BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 23rd August 2025: Tripura Congress president and former MLA Asish Kumar Saha on Saturday accused the BJP of using the long-pending 125th Amendment Bill as an election ploy to mislead indigenous voters ahead of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) polls.
Addressing a gathering on TTAADC Diwas in Agartala, Saha said while Congress had laid the foundation of the autonomous council under Indira Gandhi in 1984 and further empowered it during the UPA regime under Dr. Manmohan Singh, the BJP has failed to act on the Bill despite being in power at the Centre for a decade.
“For 11 years, BJP never raised the issue of the 125th Amendment Bill. Suddenly, just before elections, their leaders talk about it. This is nothing but a political ploy to fool tribals,” Saha said.
He alleged that the BJP was treating tribal rights as a “vote bank tool” while neglecting genuine development. Citing Tribal Welfare Minister Bikas Debbarma’s recent statement that the government would push the Bill as an election issue, Saha underlined that without direct funding, TTAADC cannot ensure meaningful progress. “Congress empowered tribals in the past and will continue to fight for their rights,” he added.
