Agartala, August 17:
The Opposition CPI(M) and Congress in Tripura have mounted a sharp attack on the BJP–TIPRA Motha alliance, questioning the continuation of their power-sharing arrangement despite what they described as the failure to implement the tripartite agreement signed in New Delhi in March 2024 between the Centre, the Tripura government and TIPRA Motha.
CPI(M) state secretary and Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury described the BJP and TIPRA Motha as “same-boat brothers”, alleging that periodic speculation about an alliance ahead of elections was a political “drama” intended to mislead voters.
Chaudhury said the two parties had been politically aligned since the 2023 Assembly elections and were now sharing power, while publicly engaging in confrontations and periodically projecting differences.
He alleged that such political manoeuvring was aimed at concealing their failures to fulfil promises made to the people.
“If they really share seats in the village council elections, it is not something new,” Chaudhury said, arguing that the alliance had existed since 2023. He said an open alliance would instead allow voters to clearly understand the political equations.
Congress MLA and former Minister Sudip Roy Barman questioned the Centre, the Tripura government and TIPRA Motha over the outcome of the tripartite agreement signed on March 2, 2024, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Roy Barman said the agreement was projected as a time-bound arrangement, with six months envisaged for taking forward its commitments. More than two-and-a-half years later, he questioned what tangible outcome had emerged.
“May I humbly ask the central government, the government of Tripura, and the Tipra Motha party, what is the outcome of the so-called tripartite agreement?” he asked, adding, “Outcome? Zero.”
He said renewed political activity and talks at New Delhi surrounding TIPRA Motha ahead of the forthcoming village council elections had again raised questions over the party’s relationship with the BJP.
Roy Barman said that if the Centre and the state government had betrayed the trust of indigenous people, TIPRA Motha should have withdrawn from the government, asked its ministers to resign and sat in the Opposition to raise its voice on the issue.
“TIPRA Motha ought to have come out of this government,” he said, describing the BJP and TIPRA Motha as “either side of the same coin”.
Asked whether TIPRA Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma’s continued political position was due to any compulsion, Roy Barman declined to specify any reason. He said anyone who was not afraid of the Enforcement Directorate, CBI or Income Tax Department should come forward openly and raise the voice of the indigenous people.
The Opposition’s criticism comes ahead of the village council elections, with both leaders questioning the need for a “new” alliance announcement between parties they claim have already been political partners since 2023.
