By PTI
AGARTALA: Former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Sunday lashed out at regional party Tipra Motha and the IPFT, a constituent of the BJP-led government in the state, for allegedly “turning a blind eye” to the hardship that people are facing and “unrealistic” demand for greater Tipraland.
The fuel prices have reached an all-time high but the BJP at the Centre has been paying “no heed” to the people’s concern in Parliament, the CPI(M) leader said.
“It is ridiculous that when fuel price was low worldwide, it was skyrocketing in the country. No one can survive bypassing such a core issue,” he said while speaking at a conference of Tribal Youth Federation, a wing of the Left party.
He also accused the Tipra Motha and the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura of diverting the burning issues by raising the Tipraland demand.
“Where is the party that had raised Tipraland demand just before the 2018 assembly elections? Ask those people who have raised greater Tipraland to explain the concept of it,” he said.
Taking a dig at the Tipra Motha on the greater ‘Tipraland’ issue, the former chief minister said, “I heard of their claim that Manipur and Nagaland would come under the ambit of greater Tipraland. Bangladesh’s Chittagong will also be a part of it. Is it a realistic demand? Who will hear your voice.”
The veteran CPI(M) leader exhorted the ‘tribal saviours’ to work to strengthen the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
“Those who consider the TTAADC is a state are living in a fool’s paradise. It is a special arrangement under the sixth schedule of the Constitution. There must be efforts to give more power to the body. Besides, initiatives should be taken to include Kokborok language in the eighth schedule of the Constitution,” he said.
“Tipraland and greater Tipraland slogans are aimed at dismantling unity” among the weaker section of people so that they could “not raise voice against the burning issues like unemployment, inflation and high fuel prices, he claimed.
Sarkar also recalled the history of the ‘Janashiksha Movement’ that had “changed the education system in the tribal belts in the late 70s”.
“Around 4,000 schools were established across the state with a special focus on tribal-dominated areas. The Janashiksha Movement had played a pivotal role in expanding the education base in tribal areas,” he added.
