Guwahati: TIPRA Motha founder and royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma struck an optimistic note after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi Monday to discuss issues related to the Tiprasa Accord, fencing and patrolling along the Indo-Bangladesh border, and the implementation of a Constitution amendment to empower Sixth Schedule areas of Northeast.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Debbarma said Monday that the home minister will visit Tripura later this month and showed “keen interest in resolving the outstanding issues” concerning the indigenous people.
Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA Motha) is in alliance with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
Pradyot was accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP Kriti Devi Debbarman, his sister, who handed over a letter to the home minister urging the implementation of the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019, which enhances the administrative and financial autonomy of Sixth Schedule areas. The bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in February 2019.
Today my sister handed over the letter to Hon HM Shri @AmitShah for the implementation of the 125th amendment . All of us who are from the NE council areas would like this at the earliest to safeguard our interest of the people pic.twitter.com/UDMonUZBbC
— Pradyot_Tripura (@PradyotManikya) December 9, 2024
This was also the second official meeting of Debbarma with the Union ministry on the Tiprasa Accord, signed between the Centre, state government, and TIPRA Motha on 2 March to resolve issues concerning the rights of the indigenous people of Tripura.
The tripartite accord aims at safeguarding the land rights of indigenous people, the preservation of language, the establishment of a central university besides the elevation of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), and the granting of constitutional provisions for the protection and recognition of tribal identities.
Speaking to ThePrint, Debbarma said that things were moving in the right direction. “Amit Shah is coming to Tripura between 19-21 December for the Northeastern conference. Many issues will be discussed including the 125th amendment, which is beyond the state of Tripura. The home minister is positive about it.”
Also Read: BJP’s allies in Northeast to push for 6th Schedule amendment to empower tribal autonomous councils
‘Cannot blame BSF for taking action’
Separately, a day earlier, Debbarma cautioned against the illegal immigration of Bangladesh nationals into India in a post on X.
He was responding to a post by Bangladeshi student activist Nahid Islam on the alleged “killing” of a 40-year-old citizen of Bangladesh, Anwar Hossain, at the Panchagarh border by India’s Border Security Force (BSF). The Panchagarh district of Bangladesh shares a boundary with Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in West Bengal.
In a strongly worded post on X, Debbarma said Sunday that, even as the loss of lives is regretted, illegal migration of Bangladeshis has remained a threat to Northeast India.
If your people continuously try to illegally cross our border action will be taken ! Ask yourself why they want to come to india rather than stay in their own country ! There are entry points to our country take that route and not dubiously . We regret loss of lives but… https://t.co/Lo3tsAOf2j
— Pradyot_Tripura (@PradyotManikya) December 8, 2024
While speaking to ThePrint, Debbarma clarified that his statement was not made to justify any shooting, but to assert that people from Bangladesh should not enter India unlawfully.
“Of course, there are severe problems in Bangladesh, but why are the people illegally coming and settling here? It’s fair if you are legally entering India, but if you try to come in through non-entry points, you cannot blame the BSF for taking action. Why are you trying to come by crossing the fence?”
Debbarma added that India should not allow Bangladesh to succeed in dividing people on the basis of religion. “The Indian side should also realise that if there’s a problem in the neighbouring country, one should not target Indian Muslims here because they have nothing to do with this.”
The royal scion has also hit out against the alleged attacks on minorities in Bangladesh over the past couple of months.
Last month, while referring to the arrest of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) monk Chinmoy Das by Dhaka Police, ‘Bubagra’ or ‘Maharaj’ as Debbarma is popularly known, highlighted the historical association of Tripura with ISKCON, which he said “cannot be overlooked”.
Das was arrested for sedition last month after a saffron flag—associated with Hinduism—was raised above the Bangladeshi flag at a protest he had led against alleged attacks on Hindus and other minorities in the country.
In a post on X, Debbarma, on 29 November, said that Bangladesh should “concentrate on controlling their internal radicalism rather than shifting the blame on organisations which do public service”.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)