Political violence in Tripura a gift of communist, says TIPRA chief Pradyot

Chairman of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council advisory committee and chief of TIPRA Motha, Pradyot Kishore Debbarman on Wednesday claimed that violence became an integral part of Tripura's political culture due to the prolonged Left rule.

"Violence is a communist culture. Once something becomes a part and parcel of the culture it remains no matter what party is at the helm of affairs now. The way caste violence is a part of the culture in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, political violence has evolved in Tripura and West Bengal as the Left ruled these states for a long period of time," he said.

Debbarman was addressing a press conference at Rajanadar here in Agartala. His party, TIPRA Motha has emerged as a strong political force in the tribal-dominated parts of Tripura has announced a public meeting to be organized at Swami Vivekananda stadium, Agartala.

"We are organizing a public meeting at Swami Vivekananda stadium to convey a message to the central government. We are demanding constitutional solutions for our demand for Greater Tipraland. Through the rally we shall also place the demand of early elections in the Village Committees that have expired long back," he pointed out.

Debbarman also threatened to move the High Court if the polls are not declared immediately. "We shall wait for another week," he added.According to Debbarman, the state government is treating the TTAADC as a stepchild and the flow of funds was not adequate for the smooth functioning of the administration. "We want to put light to the real picture. TTAADC areas cover 75 per cent of the geographical area of the state while the funding patterns for these areas are shocking. If compared with the state, only 10 per cent of government money is spent for the people living in TTAADC which is really unfortunate," said Debbarman. He also reacted to the wide range of allegations he evoked of being communal or anti-Bengali. "I am not against anyone. We shall move ahead with our goal and other communities will live here peacefully. We are not speaking against anyone, we are speaking for ourselves," he pointed out.

The royal scion also explained as to how the TTAADC is bereft of adequate funds and said that the government of India must pay attention to their demands.

On Union Home Minister Amit Shah's Tripura visit, he said, "I am open for talks. If the Government of India wants to talk to us, we shall certainly join the table of talks. But, there will be no backchannel talks. Everything will be done in front of the public".

TIPRA or Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance was formed two months before the TTAADC elections and bagged an absolute majority in the polls.

( With inputs from ANI )