Agartala, September 30: Amid ongoing volatile political development over the issue of critical bullet injury of a candidate during Village Committee elections, Tipra Motha MLA Ranjit Debbarma has renewed the demand for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system across Tripura, saying he has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and received a response from the Centre, while the issue has assumed renewed political significance in the state.
Debbarma said his demand was for an ILP regime covering the entire state to regulate the entry of people from outside Tripura, and not for restricting movement within the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
The MLA, who has previously raised the ILP demand with the Centre, said he believed the system would help regulate entry into the border state. ILP is currently applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur.
The demand comes amid renewed political activity around issues of indigenous identity, illegal migration and border security in Tripura.
Debbarma’s latest position also comes days after the violence during the TTAADC Village Committee elections and Tuesday’s confrontation between Tipra Motha leaders and police at Gamaria in Gomati district over the demand for arrest of those accused of firing at a Motha candidate.
Debbarma said the district administration had assured the party that those involved in the firing would be arrested along with the weapons and vehicle allegedly used in the incident within 72 hours. Following the assurance, the road blockade was withdrawn around 8.30 pm on Tuesday.
The ILP demand adds another dimension to the political discourse in Tripura ahead of the 2028 Assembly election, with indigenous land and constitutional rights already remaining important issues for Tipra Motha. The party had earlier built its politics around demands including Greater Tipraland, while the Tripura Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance-led politics subsequently became associated with the implementation of the Tiprasa Accord.
Whether the ILP demand emerges as a major electoral issue in the 2028 Assembly election will depend on how the factor evolves politically and the response of the Centre and the state government to its execution. Again the implementation of the Tripartite Agreement or the Tiprasa Accord remains a key issue for Tripura’s ruling NDA alliance partners, the BJP and Tipra Motha, and its progress is likely to have a bearing on the political discourse ahead of the polls.
