Tripura BJP ally to resume stir against CAA

Ruling BJP's ally in Tripura, Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), on Tuesday announced an indefinite sit-in from January 6 for keeping the state out of the purview the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and creation of a separate state for the tribals.

IPFT Assistant General Secretary and party spokesman Mangal Debbarma told media that the sit-in-demonstration from January 6 would be held at the headquarters of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) at Khumulwng, 25 km north of Agartala.

"Besides keeping the state out of the ambit of CAA and creation of a separate state for the indigenous tribals, we strongly want introduction of the NRC (National Register of Citizens) in Tripura to protect the demographic position of the tribals," said Debbarma, who was accompanied by his party leaders.

A delegation of IPFT leaders led by party General Secretary and Tribal Welfare Minister Mevar Kumar Jamatia met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on December 12 and discussed their demands.

"We are yet to see any outcome of our meeting with the Union Home Minister. We have alternative but to agitate in support of our demands," the tribal leader said.

The IPFT has been agitating since 2009 for the creation of a separate state for the indigenous tribals by upgrading the TTAADC, which has jurisdiction over two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area, home to over 12,16,000 people, mostly tribals.

Other tribal parties, including the Joint Movement Against Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (JMACAB), a group of many tribal parties, led by the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) and Tripura People's Front (TPF), who had called off their agitation against the CAA on December 11 after a meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, have also hinted to resume their stirs.

Former Tripura Congress chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman, who quit the party a few months back over the CAB issue and met Shah, on the same issue, has formed a new organisation to sphearhead the agitation.

The amended Citizenship Act provides Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh with a cut-off date of December 31, 2014.