TIPRA Motha stages protest in front of Raj Bhawan, alleges ‘step-motherly’ treatment to TTAADC

TIPRA in a letter to the Governor said that the ‘indigenous people of Tripura who are living like second-class citizens in their motherland”

By Pinaki Das

The Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) led by its led by its Chief Executive Member Purna Chandra Jamatia and Tipra Motha Chairman Pradyot Debbarma on Friday staged a sit-in demonstration in front of Raj Bhawan in Agartala to flag several issues including the deplorable plight of the ‘indigenous people of Tripura who are living like second-class citizens, non-release of funds, pending Bills and despite several requests, Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya not meeting the Council members that is hampering developmental work in the TTAADC areas.

“We have submitted a letter to the Governor. We are not given funds in the ADC, people are suffering in ADC. They are facing a lot of problems. They are facing issues with medicine, water, education. We are not able to provide jobs. The Governor is the custodian of the ADC. Earlier too we made efforts to meet the Governor, but the Governor seems to be busy. Maybe he is unwell. I wish him all the best for his health,” Debbarma said speaking to the media.

Debbarma further highlighted that several bills including the Customary Law Bill, the Land Reforms Bill are pending. “Before elections everybody said that ADC will be given maximum autonomy, full rights. We have come here and then the Governor does not meet us. Its alright he might be busy. This is a step motherly treatment but whatever it is,” an anguished Debbarma said.

In a letter addressed to the Governor, Debbarma and the TTAADC members said, “the indigenous people of Tripura are living like second-class citizens in their motherland. The indigenous people of Tripura deserve to live with dignity, peace and prosperity, but unfortunately, the sheer negligence of the state administration has led to unrest among the people”.

The TIPRA Motha delegation was supposed to meet Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya to raise their concerns against the alleged step motherly attitude of the government in terms of granting more autonomy to the TTAADC. However, the TTAADC delegation was allegedly ‘denied’ permission to meet the Governor.

In the letter they pointed that of the total Rs 619.25 crore for the financial year 2022-23 only Rs 126.59 crore has been released. “This has resulted in a delay in the disbursement of staff salaries and other departmental activities. For the current financial year only Rs 4.24 crore has been allocated for developmental work,” the letter read.

The state’s main Opposition party also threatened that if no actions are taken then it will be left with no other option but to launch a mass agitation.

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