Cong MLA criticised by Pradyot for ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand

Agartala: Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma on Tuesday slammed Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman for mocking the regional party’s demand for a ‘greater Tipraland’ ahead of the assembly polls.

The Tripura Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance or TIPRA Motha, a regional political party led by royalist Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, wants a ‘greater Tipraland’, a separate state for the indigenous people of Tripura.
However, Pradyot, who has emerged as a popular tribal leader in the polling state, did not name Roy Burman.

Never uttered a word against @Priyankagandhi or @RahulGandhi yet locals @INCTripura mock our legitimate demand. The state Congress is a champion of self-destruction. Don’t mock the sentiments of the natives or you will get a befitting reply. We know our constitutional rights”, Debbarma tweeted in an indirect reference to Roy Burman’s speech at a Congress rally in Karamcherra in Dhalai district on Monday.
Roy Barman, the lone Congress MLA in the 60-member assembly, has criticized regional tribal parties for playing with the sentiments of local people ahead of the elections.

“One party raised the slogan of Tipraland before the 2018 assembly elections and won eight seats and now the other party has raised a new slogan – demand for Greater Tipraland, Tipra Motha,” he added.
Tipra Motha has become a formidable force in 20 ST reserve assembly constituencies in the 60-member state assembly after winning the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections in 2021.

Apart from this, there are five to eight constituencies in which tribal voters are the deciding factor.