Tripura Royal Scion Pradyot breaks down, says ‘was abused, humiliated, never betray my people, will die for them’

In an exclusive conversation with Northeast Live, Pradyot Debbarma said that the Centre and Tripura Government will be responsible for his death

Tripura’s royal scion and TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarma today choked up and broke into tears as he spoke about the unwarranted delay by the Central Government in fulfilling the constitutional rights of the indigenous people of Tripura.

“What did we ask for? We asked for our own rights in our own state. We are not snatching anyone’s rights. Even that the Government of India cannot give us? They only want to talk to people who have guns and not to people who have good intentions,” Debbarma told Northeast Live in an exclusive interview.

All choked up, emotional and eyes welled up, the Royal Scion who has been fighting for the constitutional rights and safeguards of the indigenous Tiprasa people of Tripura said, “I am emotional, I am sorry, I am hurt. But do not take these tears as weakness. The day this Pradyut falls, 5,000 more Pradyuts will rise. I have been abused, humiliated. After all this, if I am cheated (referring to the Centre’s delay), I think it is better I leave my palace and go be with my people, sit on the ground and protest with them. If I have to die, I will die but I cannot betray my people”.

“If anything happens to me, the Central and state governments will be responsible,” Debbarma said adding that he has clearly conveyed to the Centre that if no constitutional solution is arrived at then he will sit on a hunger strike and fast unto death. “My children are my people. At least I can give something to them,” Debbarma said as emotions choked his voice.

Asked about the draft which is reportedly already in the process, Pradyot said, “The draft is with the Ministry of Home Affairs. Not only me, Samajpati, the TYPC, the returnees from the underground, the BJP’s alliance partner-IPFT, and of course ourselves have put their points across. Once they have seen that, it is not rocket science, when they say that we are going to take time into something properly, this is not rocket science. See Jammu and Kashmir, Leh Ladakh, in one day when the PM wanted to do it, he did it in one day. So the fact is when Telangana was created it just took one or two weeks and it was created. The idea is the will. Are the indigenous people of Tripura taken seriously or is it that only during the election big promises are made to fool us and rule.”

On the meeting between TIPRA Motha and the Congress last night on a possible alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Pradyot said, “There is no new twist. TIPRA Motha is fighting for the indigenous rights of the people of Tripura. We do not belong to the INDI Alliance nor do we belong to the NDA. So we will talk to all parties and whichever party we think is more sincere in alleviating the constitutional and survival aspect of our Tiprasa people, we will engage with them. Our job is to talk to those who will have sympathy and support politically and in terms of administration. So we have met the people from the Congress, we have met the people from the BJP and that’s how it is going on. There is nothing too much to get excited about.”

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