Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday asserted that the tripartite agreement signed to bring a lasting solution to the problems of the state’s indigenous people was a historic step to achieve peace and prosperity.
Earlier in the day, the tripartite agreement between Tipra Motha and the governments of Tripura and India was signed in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Today is a historic day for the state of Tripura as an important agreement to ensure peace and prosperity was inked in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” the CM said at a press conference.
Under the pact, it was agreed to amicably resolve all issues of the indigenous people of Tripura related to history, land and political rights, economic development, identity, culture and language, according to an official statement.
Shah said that with the signing of the agreement, the government has respected history, corrected past wrongs and accepted the present reality to proceed towards a brighter future.
“The BJP-IPFT government in the state doesn’t want to linger any problem. For the past few months, the Tipra Motha has been raising some issues. Today’s development will address the concern of the opposition party,” Saha said.
Lauding the prime minister’s focus on peace in the northeast region, Saha said altogether eleven accords have been signed by the Centre with different organisations in the northeastern region in the past few years.
The tripartite agreement between Tripura Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance, popularly known as Tipra Motha, and the state and central governments was signed at North Block in New Delhi.
Asked when the joint working group will be constituted, the chief minister said the election bugle has already been sounded and political parties are gearing up for their election campaign.
“Despite Parliamentary elections, the work on the agreement will begin and all will be informed whenever any development comes”, he said.
Taking to social media, Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debarma said the party has signed a historical accord.
“We have to implement our land rights, funding pattern, language (script) issue, political representation and also correct our historical and cultural pride”, he said in a Facebook post.
The CPI (M) strongly reacted to the tripartite agreement, claiming that it was “an eyewash of the BJP to divert the people’s attention from the real issues ahead of parliamentary elections”.
“It is an agreement with the Tipra Motha to win the elections”, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury told PTI.
“A modality committee was constituted following an agreement with the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the BJP-led coalition government, after the 2018 assembly elections. But it has not delivered a one-line recommendation after six years! There is nothing new in the agreement with the Tipra Motha and no time frame was set for when the joint working group will start functioning,” he added.
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First Published: Mar 03 2024 | 7:24 AM IST