Altogether 267 tribal supporters of 57 families of different political parties on Wednesday joined Congress by accepting party flags from PCC president and other senior leaders at Congress Bhavan during their ongoing revival drive of the party in hills.

Before formal joining, Pradesh Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha accompanied by Congress Working Committee’s permanent invitee member and MLA Sudip Roy Barman, senior ST cell leader Sabdya Kumar Jamatia said that the living conditions of hilly people in Tripura are being deteriorating day by day with politics of ‘Tipraland’ and ‘Greater Tipraland’.

Saha claimed that in reality, the innocent tribal people are being made scapegoats for regional politics and for personal interest of few tribal leaders. But, interestingly, they now understand which party can ensure the real development of indigenous people as only former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi ensured the rights of indigenous people by empowering them under 6th Schedules of the constitution in 1984.

They are frustrated with the contradictory politics of the regional parties and that is why they have decided to throw out their old parties to strengthen the hands of Congress, said Saha.

Highlighting the developmental initiatives of previous Congress governments in centre, Saha said that today’s joining programme will herald further rush of tribal people to join the Congress.

The Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman castigated the alleged divisive politics of BJP and its communal agenda claiming the party over the past five and half years has destroyed Tripura’s socio-economic fabric. There is no law and order situation in the state, election after election is being reduced to farce through organized rigging and the condition of hilly people are deteriorating day by day.

The coming general elections of 2024 will again see the strength of Congress in the hills of Tripura as daily large numbers of deprived people are joining Congress to restore their basic rights, said Sudip and added that soon the Congress will launch statewide agitation on demands related to public interest.

Tribal Sbadya Kumar Jamatia said that among the people, who joined the party on Wednesday, 127 voters from 27 families are from Gandacherra subdivision and another 140 voters from 37 families have joined Congress from different parts of the state.