Tipra Motha Party discusses SIR in electoral rolls, tripartite accord implementation with JP Nadda

New Delhi/Agartala, July 24 (IANS) A delegation of Tipra Motha Party (TMP), a junior ally of the ruling BJP, on Thursday held a meeting with BJP President J.P. Nadda in the national capital and discussed the pressing need to implement the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Tripura, party sources said.

A TMP spokesman in Agartala said that nine-member delegation of the TMP, led by party supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, also discussed about the implementation of the tripartite accord, signed on March 2 last year, with J.P. Nadda, who is also the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister.

The spokesman said that concerns regarding national security due to the prevailing situation in Bangladesh and the atrocities against minorities there were also discussed with the Union Minister.

TMP leaders and two state's ministers -- Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma, Lok Sabha Member from Tripura East parliamentary constituency Kriti Devi Debbarman were also present in the meeting.

“The Union government earlier assured the implementations of the tripartite accord before the Lok Sabha elections last year in the interest of the indigenous people of Tripura,” the TMP spokesman said.

Meanwhile, party supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma on Wednesday said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday told a delegation of the TMP that the SIR of the electoral rolls would be conducted across the country including Tripura.

A nine-member delegation of the TMP, led by Debbarma, met the full ECI led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demanded the SIR in Tripura similar to the procedure being adopted in Bihar.

After meeting the ECI, Debbarma, a former royal scion, had told the media in New Delhi that one of the key agendas discussed was the immediate implementation of the SIR in Tripura, and the Commission has assured that the SIR would be conducted all across the country, including in Tripura.

“Illegal migration is affecting our state and northeast, and today, if we don’t identify illegal voters, there will be no tomorrow for our next generation. The good news is that the ECI has assured the delegation (TMP) that SIR will be conducted across the country, including Tripura,” the TMP chief said.

The TMP, in a letter to the ECI, demanded to conduct the SIR of the electoral roll in Tripura, accompanied by a comprehensive door-to-door verification exercise, similar to the model recently adopted in the state of Bihar.

After a year-long hectic parleys and after signing a tripartite agreement with the Centre and the Tripura government on March 2 last year, the then opposition TMP with 13 MLAs joined the BJP-led coalition government in the state on March 7 last year, adding a new twist to Tripura's politics.

On the same day, two TMP MLAs -- Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma -- were inducted into the ministry headed by Chief Minister Manik Saha. The TMP’s demands include greater autonomy for the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and the development of the tribals’ socio-economic conditions.

--IANS

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