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Tripura royal scion floats new apolitical organisation

By Correspondent

AGARTALA, Dec 25 - Tripura�s royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarman has floated an apolitical organisation � The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) � to protect the rights of the indigenous people of the State.

Debbarman, who quit the post of PCC president in September in protest against the Congress�s alleged indifferent attitude towards issues afflicting the indigenous people of Tripura, announced the formation of the new apolitical outfit following a meeting with his followers at the royal palace on Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, the royal scion cited the reasons for floating the organisation. �The main objective of the organisation is to struggle in a democratic way to protect the rights of the indigenous people. I attended a meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), but no step has been taken to address our concern. Under this circumstance, there is no point of sitting idle. We must raise our voice against CAA,� he said.

Debbarman said that the organisation would launch a �peaceful movement� on January 8 against the amended citizenship law by staging a rally at Madhabari in West Tripura district.

�TIPRA will raise voice against CAA without harbouring hatred to any caste, creed and religion,� he said.

He urged the indigenous parties of Tripura like the Indigenous People�s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) to join the movement for the greater cause of the indigenous people.

Political analysts feel that the royal scion, who has considerable influence in the tribal belts, would try to consolidate his support base in the run-up to the autonomous district council elections slated early next year.

The recent political developments indicate that there would be a multi-corner battle in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council elections with BJP and its allay IPFT contesting separately. On the other hand, two opposition parties � the CPI(M) and the Congress � would also contest the elections.

According to political analysts, if the tribal council witnesses multi-corner contest, the ruling BJP will have an edge.

A PTI report from Agartala adds: A new page created on Facebook by TIPRA welcomed people to join the organisation.

�Our aim is to uphold the rights and identity of our people. Bubagra (king) Pradyot Manikya is the chairman of this organisation and everyone is welcome to join it. This is a social organisation and not a political party,� it said.

Talking to reporters, Debbarman said that he had invited the leaders of tribal bodies to take part in the anti-CAA agitation.

�We think the indigenous people of the State would be badly affected if the amended Citizenship Act was implemented. As part of our protest against the law, we have decided to form committees to hold protest at block and booth levels, beginning January 8,� he added.

Meanwhile, Pijush Kanti Biswas, the acting president of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), on Wednesday asserted that his party would launch a protest against BJP�s �anti-people policies� during the first week of the New Year.

�If CAA and NRC are implemented, it would divide people and spoil the social fabric of the country,� he told newsmen at Congress Bhavan here.

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