Modi govt to hold first working group meeting for implementation of Tipra Motha agreement on Sept 20

Tipra Motha, which won 13 seats in its maiden Assembly polls last year, joined the BJP-led govt after signing a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura govt. Under the tripartite pact, it was agreed to amicably resolve all issues of indigenous people of Tripura relating to history, land and political rights, economic development, identity, culture and language.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah being greeted by Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Deb Barma during the signing of agreement between Tipra Motha and the governments of Tripura and India, in New Delhi, Saturday, March 2, 2024.

Credit: PTI File Photo

Guwahati: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has invited Tipra Motha leaders to New Delhi for the first meeting of the working group on September 20, for implementation of the tripartite agreement signed in March.

Tipra Motha founder and Tripura's royal scion Pradyot Deb Barma and the party's president B K Hrangkhawl have been invited for the meeting.

Sources said that officials of Tripura government, one of the signatories of the agreement, have also been invited for the meeting.

Tipra Motha had led an agitation before the Assembly elections in 2023 seeking a constitutional solution to the problems confronting the identity of the indigenous communities in Tripura, and other welfare issues. The regional party, which won 13 Assembly seats in its maiden Assembly polls, however, joined the BJP-led government after signing the tripartite agreement with the Centre and Tripura government.

Under the tripartite pact, it was agreed to amicably resolve all issues of indigenous people of Tripura relating to history, land and political rights, economic development, identity, culture and language. Tipra Motha says they need a constitutional solution as the indigenous people have been reduced into minority due to "large scale infiltration" from neighbouring Bangladesh since the Partition and later.

The process, however, remained stalled as the Centre wanted NLFT and All Tripura Tiger Force, two insurgent groups, to sign an agreement and join the mainstream. The two groups signed a memorandum of settlement with the Centre and Tripura government on September 4, providing a boost to the process for implementation of the Tipra agreement.

Sources said with Tripura becoming a insurgency free state, the Centre now wants to resolve the issues raised by Tipra Motha and implement the promises BJP made before the Assembly elections.