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IPFT ups the ante on Tipraland demand, to stage protest in Delhi

AGARTALA: The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), an ally of the ruling BJP in the state, has demanded that a bill be introduced in Parliament for creating a separate Tipraland, elevating the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC).

IPFT leaders and workers will hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on December 2, assistant general secretary and spokesperson of IPFT Mangal Debbarma said on Tuesday.



He claimed that the central government had in-principle accepted the demand for a separate Tipraland after formation of the Union Territory of Lakakh and said, "This has been the IPFT's demand since 2009, and we moved forward with it."

The IPFT would start pressing for their demand following the demonstration, he said, adding that hundreds of students and professionals from the indigenous communities live in Delhi and would take part in the agitation along with about 500 volunteers from the state. The Centre should introduce Tipraland bill in the next session of Parliament on the lines of Ladakh, he said.

The IPFT expressed displeasure over the delay in publication of the recommendation of a high-level modality committee, constituted in September last year. According to the agreement between the BJP and the IPFT before the last assembly elections, a committee was formed to oversee the socio-economic, cultural and linguistic development of tribals of Tripura, and the report was supposed to be published within a year, Debbarma said.

"It is surprising the modality committee had held several rounds of meetings with political parties, intellectuals and NGOs, and the latest meeting was held on October 16-17, but as of now the ministry of home affairs did not publish the recommendations of the committee for development of tribals in Tripura," Mangal stated.

The IPFT leadership also urged the Centre to pass the 125th amendment bill of the sixth schedule of the Constitution, which has already been approved by the central cabinet on January 23 this year. The proposal for the amendment was mooted in 2012, but it has not yet been passed by Parliament, he said.

The party said it stood with the demand of displaced Bru tribals settled in six camps of north Tripura, and demanded resettlement of the remaining dwellers in Tripura, instead of Mizoram . The party leaders said the displaced Brus were originally from Tripura from where they were ousted and they settled in Mizoram.

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