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Journalism of Courage
The 13 TIPRA Motha MLAs took the oath of office in Tripura on Friday and party supremo Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma said Motha would play the role of a constructive and responsible Opposition.
“Our MLAs have been sworn in today. We’ll stand with the government where the issue is of the development and welfare of the state but we shall also question if the government doesn’t work well, both inside and outside the Assembly. We’ll be a responsible opposition in the House,” Debbarma said.
TIPRA Motha is in talks with the central government to find a constitutional solution to problems faced by the state’s tribals. After Debbarma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah a few days ago, it was decided to appoint an interlocutor for the dialogue process.
Debbarma said a draft was given to Motha before the elections but it could not be signed because the code of conduct was in place. “The government of India proposed the interlocutor. If they want to do it, they’ll do it. If not, they’ll not. It depends on them. We can’t wait an entire lifetime for them. They had earlier proposed a draft to us but we aren’t ready to sign yet. We’ll keep opposing the government till our demands are met,” he said.
Debbarma also said his party would not join the government till “satisfactory constitutional rights” are given to the tribals. Asked whether Motha MLAs would join hands with the other Opposition parties inside the Assembly, he said his party would raise its voice together with the CPM and the Congress on issues such as development, welfare, jobs for 10,323 sacked teachers and tribal rights.
However, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman obliquely pointed the finger at Motha when he said those who wanted to form a government alone or tried to be kingmakers were responsible for dividing votes and frustrating “a sure victory” against the BJP in the elections.
“The battle is lost but the war against the BJP goes on. Why we lost and why a change of guard wasn’t possible despite having a 60 per cent mandate against the BJP is clear from the statistics of poll results. No party had formed a government with a 38.97 per cent vote share since the territorial council era in Tripura,” said the former minister.
Barman, who was also sworn in Friday, said the BJP won 25 of its 32 seats because of the division of Opposition votes. Asked which party he blamed, he said that many truths could not be revealed for the sake of future politics.
Barman said the people had largely accepted the Congress’s seat-sharing adjustment with the Left Front but that the unified Secular Democratic Front’s prospects were frustrated.
The Congress leader urged the BJP-led government to provide immediate and suitable compensation to all who sustained losses in the recent incidents of political violence.
Other Opposition as well as ruling legislators took the oath on Thursday.
Motha, which was floated in 2021 with the slogan of a Greater Tipraland, won the tribal council polls just two months after its formation. It went solo in the Assembly elections last month since no party accepted its demand for a written agreement on its Greater Tipraland demand.
