BJP using ‘terror collaborator’ to oust Left govt in Tripura: CM Manik Sarkar

Manik Sarkar, who has been Chief Minister of Tripura for the past 20 years and is attempting a fifth term, has accused the Modi government of being in cahoots with the separatist tribal party, Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), and declares that the people of the northeastern state will fight "tooth and nail" to prevent its division.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership is using the terror collaborator IPFT as hunting cocks and plotting multi-faceted conspiracies against the Left Front government in Tripura," the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI(M)) chief minister told IANS in an interview ahead of the February 18 assembly polls.

Sarkar, 69, has accused the BJP-led central government of putting up an economic blockade against the Left Front government in Tripura, and all the top leaders of the saffron party and central ministers, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of "pouncing on the state like eagles" in order to oust the Left from power.

"As part of their conspiracy, a series of meetings was held between the IPFT leaders and government officials, Minister in the PMO Jitendra Singh, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and finally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi—but everything was kept secret and nothing was shared about these meetings with the state government," said Sarkar.

On the IPFT's demand for a separate state, the Chief Minister said that "the people of Tripura will fight tooth and nail to thwart the division of Tripura".

He said that Tripura's post-independence history has been "marked by ethnic peace and amity and even though fissiparous forces tried to disturb peace for a brief while, Tripura maintained perfect ethnic harmony".

"When terrorist outfits realised that their demand of 'Sovereign Tripura' would never be accomplished, then the IPFT raised the separate state demand to drive a wedge between tribals and non-tribals," said Sarkar.

Sarkar, who has termed the poll tie-up between the BJP and IPFT an "unholy alliance", said it was aimed at dividing Tripura. "But we will not let this happen."

"Despite being a national party, the BJP has no policy—or it would not forge an alliance with IPFT," said the Chief Minister, adding that the tribal party was "destroying the future of the tribals".

"The IPFT, with support from BJP, is trying to remove Tripura's name from history. So long as Left parties are in the state this detrimental plan would not be allowed to happen," he stated.

Since 2009, the IPFT has been agitating for upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) into a separate tribal state. Most major political parties, including the CPI(M), Congress, BJP and other tribal-based parties, have rejected the demand, saying it is not practical to divide the small state which has a population of around four million.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally on February 8, had asked the voters to throw away Manik Sarkar government.