Guwahati/New Delhi
Apparently, wary of his fast-unto-death, the Centre on Wednesday called Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Deb Barma yet again to Delhi for another round of discussions over his demand for a permanent constitutional solution to the problem of indigenous (Tiprasa) people.
Pradyot was in Delhi last week too and with his talks remaining inconclusive he had given the call for his fast-unto-death even as his party announced the blockade of the crucial National Highway 8. The Home Ministry had refused to give anything in writing.
Incidentally, Pradyot received the call just minutes into his speech at the fast-unto-death venue in Hathi Kotor, thronged by thousands of his supporters.
“Just now I have been informed that I am supposed to go to Delhi. I will go to Delhi and have a dialogue with the officials who have called me. I will go without any food to Delhi. I will meet them with respect, I have respect for the institutions, but our issues have to be addressed,” Pradyot told media persons.
Earlier, he broke the news to his supporters who responded with a thunderous applause only to be cautioned by Pradyot against celebrating too early. “Don’t celebrate too fast. Don’t repeat the mistake from the past. I’ll go and talk but will not compromise,” he said.
Soon after, he rushed to Delhi but made it clear, he would “break his fast only after getting a written assurance from the Central government”. He, however, did not name the caller saying it would not be proper to reveal it on a public stage. All that he said was officials of the central government called him.
Tipra Motha claims that tribals of Tripura have been historically deprived since the erstwhile princely state joined the Indian Union in 1949. The party also demands a separate Greater Tipraland which has been categorically rejected by the BJP.
The Motha hit national headlines when it swept the tribal council polls just a couple of months after it came into existence in 2021. Thereafter, it pipped the main players the CPI (M) and Congress to the post to emerge as the principal Opposition party bagging 13 seats in the 60-member Assembly.
It was in 2022, that discussions had first started on the issue after the Centre appointed Home Ministry advisor on Northeast Affairs A.K. Mishra as interlocutor to discuss the Greater Tipraland demand.
