Tripura: Clash breaks out between supporters of TIPRA MOTHA and BJP

As the date for the village council and assembly election is approaching, the political atmosphere in Tripura is heating up over who shall have control, as 70 percent of the state is hilly, mainly dominated by the tribal section of people consisting of 31 percent of the population.

It is noteworthy that these tribal areas play a vital role in the formation of the government as 20 out of the 60 assembly constituencies are scheduled tribe reserved.

On Tuesday, a large group of TIPRA Motha supporters who gathered in the Mungiakami market for submission of a memorandum to SDM allegedly attacked and disrupted a meeting of Jana Jati Morcha, BJP’s tribal front organization under the Teliamura subdivision of Khowai district of Tripura. 

According to a report, a meeting was held under the leadership of BJP state-level tribal leader Bikash Debbarma and a few people gathered for the same, in connection to the visit of BJP all India national president J P Nadda who is scheduled to visit Tripura coming August 29.

At that moment, few supporters of TIPRA MOTHA allegedly attacked the people who had gathered for the meeting in front of a huge number of police and other security forces.

In the ensuing clash, Bikash Debbarma, Sudan Jamiat, and a few other BJP tribal leaders sustained injuries and to save their lives they had to take shelter in a nearby CRPF camp.

Meantime, SDPO Teliamura Sunacharan Jamatia rushed to the spot with a huge contingent of paramilitary forces and brought the situation under control.

The TIPRA Motha supporters allegedly assaulted those gathered for the meeting, broke off the microphone, and drove away people including the BJP tribal leaders who were later sent to the Teliamura hospital for treatment. 

Getting information regarding the incident, ruling party state vice president Patal Kanya Jamatia who was the main speaker came to the hospital and alleged that TIPRA Motha and its chief Pradyot Kishore Deb Barma realized that it has lost its total support in the hills and so organizing all these to create an atmosphere of fear and violence to win coming elections but this is not going to happen.

In a different incident on the day of the clash, senior BJP leader and opposition leader in the Tripura ADC Hangsha Tripura along with 6000 supporters joined the tribal council's ruling TIPRA Motha party.

Pradyot Manikya while addressing the supporters of TIPRA MOTHA party alleged that BJP's 'Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas' was only in words, and in reality, it did nothing good for the tribals or non-tribals of the state and the only beneficiaries are the BJP leaders and MLAs.