Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 9: Even as the Tripura chief minister Manik Saha insisted that his BJP government would never accept a demand like “Greater Tipraland,” the understanding the ruling party reportedly reached with Tipra Motha has put both the parties in a win-win position.
Soon after his talks with the union home minister Amit Shah, the Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, a member of the Tripura royal family, claimed that the talks with the union government was positive. He profusely thanked Shah “for understanding the genuine problems of sons of the soil” and agreeing to appoint an interlocutor to consider tribal demands. He also called the talks the start of a “huge dialogue.”
Saha, however, on Thursday refuted Debbarma’s claim that the centre had agreed to appoint an interlocutor to consider the tribal demands. No decision on appointing an interlocutor had been taken at the meeting Shah had with Debbarma in the presence of the Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Saha, said, but said all parties had agreed to discuss measures for tribal welfare. He asserted that the BJP-led government would never support the Tipra Motha’s demands for a “Greater Tipraland.”
The regional party was floated by the royal family banking on the “Greater Tipraland” and it won 13 seats in the 60-member state Assembly, the second largest party after the BJP, riding on tribal aspirations for more autonomy. Even as it failed to emerge as the “kingmaker” as expected as the BJP was able to garner a wafer-thin majority in its own, the party leadership was well aware that the only way to keep its flock together was to give the tribal aspirations afloat with the help of the party in power.
For the BJP, keeping the Tipra Motha on its side would ensure the continuity of the government as a majority of one, with its ally Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT), also having won just a single seat, could put the government in jeopardy at any time.
“We had discussion on tribal welfare on how to uplift the socio-economic condition of the indigenous people. No decision of appointing an interlocutor was taken in the meeting but there will be discussion on the tribal welfare”, Saha said.
Soon after the meeting with Union Home Minister and BJP national president JP Nadda on Wednesday, the Tipra Motha supremo had claimed that the Central government would officially appoint an interlocutor to look into the problems of indigenous people for taking corrective measures. The chief minister reiterated that tribal welfare will be a priority sector for the BJP-IPFT government.
Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the BJP’s big win in the assembly polls in Tripura, Saha said “Tripura’s future under PM’s vision is bright.” In the 60-member Tripura assembly, the BJP won 32 seats. Tipra Motha Party came second by winning 13 seats while the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which had ruled the state for over 38 years since 1978, got 11 seats, Congress three and the IPFT bagged one seat.
“The way PM looks towards Tripura & works for the public here, it was definite that our govt will once again come to power,” Chief Minister Saha asserted. He said that several national highway projects are underway and also the connectivity in the state has got better.
“Our connectivity has strengthened with Bangladesh also. Tripura’s future under PM’s vision is bright. We want to further strengthen the law & order in the state. I request everyone to come together for the development of the state. We will also develop the health sector,” he said.
BJP sources said the party found an eager friend in the Motha, notwithstanding the poll-heat tensions. “Debbarma was keen on having an understanding with the BJP. In fact, there was a kind of understanding even before the voting took place. After the elections, he was desperate to initiate dialogue to send a message that he was working on fulfilling the promises made to tribals,” a BJP leader said.
Sources added that Debbarma was also nervous about the loyalties of his MLAs, some of whom had crossed over to the Motha from the BJP or IPFT. “Some movement on the dialogue front was important for Pradyot to keep his house together,” a BJP leader said.
Other party leaders argued that the top BJP leadership’s push for a friendly relationship with the Motha went beyond electoral considerations, and was motivated by a “larger national purpose”.
“There were no talks on whether the Motha would join the government or not. But it goes without saying it will support the BJP government as talks on his demands have been initiated,” a source said. While the Motha earlier demanded Greater Tipraland, an autonomous state for tribals going beyond the state’s borders, Debbarma had before the elections redefined it as a solution within the Constitution.
