AGARTALA, Oct 24 - Tripura�s Royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarman has sought Supreme Court�s ruling for undertaking National Register of Citizens (NRC) keeping in mind the continuous illegal infiltration in the State.
In a writ petition, Debbarman pleaded before the apex court to initiate NRC in Tripura in the line of Assam and the plea was admitted on Tuesday, triggering fresh trouble in the bordering State.
Debbarman, who is currently in Delhi, told the local media, he has no intention to deport anybody from the State but there must be due representation of the indigenous people in the State Assembly.
�In the writ petition, it was clearly narrated how the majority indigenous people turned into minority after 1951. Therefore, there must be due representation of indigenous people in the 60-member Tripura Assembly�, he said over telephone from the national capital on Wednesday.
According to the Royal scion, the majority tribal people have lost �power� due to continuous infiltration from across the border. �In my plea, I requested the apex court to increase ST reserved seats in the Assembly. It must be at least 30 against the present 20 ST reserved Assembly seats. Now, the court will take a final call on my plea�, he explained.
Debbarman, who is the working president of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), claimed he has filed the writ petition as a citizen, not a political personality.
In the same breathe he also criticised Patal Kanya Jamatia, a lesser known political activist for the way she filed a writ petition seeking NRC in Tripura. Tripura People�s Front (TPF) president in her writ petition had urged the apex court to identify the foreigners with the cut-off date of 1951 and deport them to their respective nations. �Unrest will hit the State if NRC is carried out as pleaded by Patal Kanya�, he observed.
The apex court had admitted the writ petition of TPF chief and served notices to the competent authority including the State Government seeking their reply on the plea.
When contacted, Advocate General Arun Kanti Bhowmik said every citizen has the right to file writ petition before the court. �The cut-off date of March 24, 1971 has been mandated by the Constitution and I do believe the court will not accept a new cut-off date�, he added.
