BY TC News Desk
Agartala, February 13: The demand for ‘Greater Tipraland’, a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura, has sparked a heated exchange between the opposition leader Animesh Debbarma and the CPIM state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury.
In a press conference held at the CPM headquarters on Monday, Chowdhury dismissed the idea of ‘Greater Tipraland’ as a “fictitious, unrealistic and unreasonable claim”. He claimed that the supporters of TIPRA Motha, a regional party that advocates for ‘Tipraland’, have realized that their demand has no merit.
However, Debbarma, who is the opposition leader of TIPRA Motha, hit back at Chaudhury in a press conference on Saturday. He said that the core demand of TIPRA Motha is the ‘Greater Tipraland’, which encompasses the entire Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). He asserted that ‘Greater Tipraland’ is their main demand and they have not given up on it.
He also sarcastically said that Chaudhury would witness a massive movement for ‘Greater Tipraland’ in his lifetime, implying that the demand is very much alive and popular among the indigenous people. He accused Chaudhury of being ignorant and insensitive to the aspirations of the tribal community.
The issue of ‘Greater Tipraland’ has been a contentious one in Tripura politics, with various groups and parties raising it from time to time. The ruling BJP has maintained a neutral stance on the matter, while the opposition Congress has opposed it. The TIPRA Motha, which emerged as a major force in the last TTAADC elections, has been vocal about its demand for ‘Greater Tipraland’.
