Tripura : BJP slams ally TMP for ‘maligning’ state govt and CM Dr Saha

The ruling BJP on Thursday strongly criticised its junior partner, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), for accusing the saffron party of not doing anything for the welfare of the tribals and for making undemocratic remarks against Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha.

BJP’s Tripura State Vice-President Bimal Chakma, party General Secretary Bipin Debbarma and youth leader Sanjit Reang jointly addressing a press conference at party headquarters in Agartala on Thursday said that leaders of the TMP are distorting Tripura’s history to gain electoral mileage ahead of the crucial elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) early next year.

Highlighting the BJP government’s efforts to recognise the importance of tribals, Chakma said that the Centre, following a proposal from the state government, renamed the Agartala Airport after the erstwhile king Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur (1923–1947) and declared his birthday, August 19, as a government holiday.

“Tripura’s former Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma is a veteran tribal leader of Tripura and has now been appointed as the Governor of Telangana. President Droupadi Murmu and several BJP Chief Ministers belong to the tribal community,” Chakma, a senior tribal leader, told the media.

He said the Tripura government, recognising the significance of tribal community leaders (Samajpatis), has accorded due respect and recognition to them.

Recently, the BJP government increased the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders to appeal to the sentiments of the tribals.

Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, in a post on X, said: “In a significant decision by the State Cabinet, the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders (Samajpatis) has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000. This decision reflects the government's commitment to honouring the invaluable role and social contributions of the Samajpatis in the tribal communities.”

BJP’s State Vice-President Chakma claimed that TMP leaders, targeting CM Saha, made derogatory remarks such as calling him a “Bengali Chief Minister” and a “Bangladeshi Chief Minister.”

“The TMP leaders also announced that no national party would be allowed to enter the TTAADC areas. We have witnessed ethnic riots in Tripura in 1980,” he said, questioning whether conspiracies were being hatched to instigate enmity between tribals and non-tribals.

BJP General Secretary Bipin Debbarma said the TMP leaders are not only insulting the Chief Minister but also distorting the history of Tripura. In Tripura, a “sweet-and-sour relationship” continues between the ruling BJP and its ally TMP.

On October 15, TMP supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, while addressing a party gathering at Karbook in southern Tripura’s Gomati district, once again threatened to quit the BJP-led coalition government in Tripura if the ‘Tiprasa’ (indigenous tribals) people are not given their rights.

Debbarma and his party leaders had earlier also threatened to break the alliance with the BJP. In recent months, clashes between workers of both parties have been reported, injuring more than 15 BJP members in separate incidents.

Ahead of the TTAADC elections early next year, both the BJP and the TMP are separately working to expand their base among tribals.

Recently, in a series of gatherings, several hundred TMP members and supporters joined the BJP in the presence of senior party leaders, including Chief Minister Manik Saha.

Since 2021, the TMP has been governing the 30-member TTAADC, which covers two-thirds of Tripura’s 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12.16 lakh people, about 84 per cent of whom are tribals.

The TMP, accusing the BJP government in Tripura of failing to act against illegal infiltrators, has been agitating for their immediate deportation.

The party has also called a 12-hour shutdown in the state on October 23 to press for the fulfilment of eight key demands, including the identification and deportation of illegal migrants in Tripura, in compliance with directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Meanwhile, a TMP delegation led by Debbarma met the Chief Election Commissioner, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Minister, and BJP President J.P. Nadda in Delhi in July and August, urging a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Tripura’s electoral rolls, similar to the exercise being conducted in Bihar.

The TMP had also held a demonstration in Delhi on September 9 to press for its three-point demands: implementation of the tripartite accord, deportation of illegal migrants from Tripura, and protection of indigenous rights.

The party has been demanding “Greater Tipraland”, a separate state for tribals under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, and the early conduct of long-pending village committee elections within the TTAADC areas.

After year-long deliberations and the signing of a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government on March 2 last year, the then opposition TMP, with 13 MLAs, joined the BJP-led coalition government in the state on March 7, 2024, adding a new twist to Tripura’s political landscape.

Two TMP MLAs, Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma, were inducted into the ministry headed by Chief Minister Manik Saha.