New Delhi
The Centre, Tripura Government and Tipra Motha, the tribal outfit which is the main opposition party in the north eastern State, on Saturday signed a tripartite agreement that Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed as “historic”.
Under the pact, it was agreed to amicably resolve all issues of indigenous people of Tripura relating to history, land and political rights, economic development, identity, culture and language, a government release state.
“Along with this, it was agreed to constitute a Joint Working Group/Committee to work out and implement the mutually agreed points on all the above mentioned issues in a time-bound manner to ensure an honourable solution. In order to maintain a conducive atmosphere for implementation of the pact, all stakeholders shall refrain from resorting to any form of protest/agitation, starting from the day of signing of the agreement,” it maintained.
The Centre got the agreement signed after having called the Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma to Delhi just as he was about to sit on his fast-unto-death seeking a constitutional solution to the problems faced by the tribals of the state. He rushed to Delhi but made it clear he would not break his fast till a written agreement with the Centre. The tribal party had also been demanding a separate Greater Tipraland.
Following the signing of the tripartite agreement Debbarma said, “I want to thank everyone. Today, this agreement has been possible because of your support. The hunger strike I did was to get everyone on notice. I would like to thank the central government and the state government. Without our poor people, this would not have been possible. Many times, I thought that I should drop it but your affection kept me going. After this Tiprasa accord, we don’t have to sit and only celebrate, we need to keep fighting for our rights, together.”
Sources said now the agreement has been signed, the Tipra Motha and the BJP may have some form of collaboration, may be in view of the impending Lok Sabha polls.
Home Minister Amit Shah, in whose presence the agreement was signed, said, “Today is a historic day for Tripura and through this agreement, we have looked at the future by honouring history, making amends and accepting today’s realities. No one can change history but we can always move forward by learning from mistakes and keeping in mind today’s realities.”
The Union Home Minister said while Tripra Motha and all tribal parties have played constructive role in this direction, the Tripura government too has always made several efforts for this.
He said that in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a Viksit Bharat, Tripura will also be committed to make its contribution and also have its share and will move forward as a Viksit Tripura.
The Home Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the Ministry of Home Affairs has made efforts to give shape to vision of an insurgency-free, dispute-free and violence-free Northeast. He noted that due to several agreements by Modi Government, around 10,000 people have given up arms and joined mainstream, which has resulted in creation of an environment of development.
Shah said that be it Bru-Reang agreement or border agreement, it all started with Tripura and today again it is an agreement for Tripura. He said that in 2019 NLFT (SD) agreement, in 2020 Bru and Bodo agreements, in 2021 Karbi-Anglong agreement, in 2022 Tribal agreement and Assam-Meghalaya border agreement, in 2023 Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border agreement, Dimasa agreement UNLF and then ULFA agreement have taken place.
He pointed out that the Modi government has worked to end struggle of people by talking to them through 11 different agreements related to borders, identity, language and culture. Shri Shah said that with today’s agreement, Tripura has moved forward to become a dispute-free Tripura. He said that now you do not have to struggle for your rights and the Government of India will come forward to develop a system which will protect rights of all.
Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha, Chief Minister, Tripura and his predecessor and MP Biplab Deb several senior officials of Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI and the Government of Tripura were also present during the signing of the agreement.
