Day after Himanta’s dialogue offer, Pradyot’s reply: ‘Ready to talk as well, but about constitutional solutions’

In a video message shared on social media, Debbarma said, “I have seen Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statements today. He has said he is ready to talk to us. We are ready to talk as well, but we are ready to talk about constitutional solutions. We are Ha ni Bwsa, or sons of the soil. If you invite us with respect, we shall come. If you want to invite us to offer us some posts, then no. TIPRA Motha was not made for a few posts. It was made for constitutional solutions. If anyone wants to run Tripura by ignoring the indigenous people of the state, they will not find it very easy.”

In another post, he spoke of the BJP’s performance in the recent Assembly polls. “Majority of the tiprasa (the Tripuri ethnic group) voted for Motha. The majority of Muslims voted for the CPI(M) and the majority of the general areas voted for the BJP. The BJP is the most popular party amongst the Hindu Bengali community in most parts of the state of Tripura. Non-Tiprasa and non-minority leaders must accept this fact.”

Debbarma also targeted the Left-Congress alliance’s statements about the TIPRA Motha cutting into their votes, saying that leaders from “general areas” were blaming his party as they were “not getting the support of their own community”.

“Till yesterday, when (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah was calling me a CPI(M)-Congress agent, it was all right for these leaders. But when the majority of the general people have voted for the BJP, then you accuse us. Accept the fact that the problem is in your support base … be it in Tripura, West Bengal or in Silchar (Assam),” he wrote.

Since the party was floated in 2021, a written agreement about Greater Tipraland or a constitutional solution for the welfare of the indigenous population has been Debbarma’s demand. Motha swept the Tripura Autonomous District Council (ADC) polls just two months after it was founded. The party contested the Assembly elections on its own after talks with the BJP and the Left-Congress alliance fell through over differences on its core demand of Greater Tipraland. With 13 seats, it is now the second-largest party in the state Assembly.

“TIPRA Motha has raised certain issues regarding the welfare of tribal people. Without dividing the state of Tripura, we are ready to sit down with them, we want to talk with them, we want to resolve the grievances of tribal people but we can’t talk of Greater Tipraland. Tripura will remain united. Within the greater Tripura, whatever needs to be talked, addressed, both central and state governments will be ready,” Sarma said on Saturday.