After Tripura Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya refused to meet the TTAADC delegation on Friday as the members reached the Raj Bhavan to submit a written memorandum; the delegation led by Tipra-Motha’s supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma staged a demonstration in front of Raj Bhavan on Friday.

Pradyot led a procession of the elected members of his party towards the Raj Bhavan but police prevented them near the Gandhi statue in Circuit House area and when they went to the main gate of  Raj Bhavan, but the security officials denied their entry as there was no appointment fixed earlier.  After a brief argument Pradyot decided to sit in on the demonstration.

Later, speaking with media persons, Pradyot accused the state government for playing with the emotions of indigenous people of Tripura, noting that a significant number of Bills, which were cleared by the TTAADC, did not receive the Governor’s mandatory assent to get enacted as Law.

Terming the unprecedented delay as the government’s “step motherly” attitude, Debbarma said that the people living in the TTAADC areas are facing multi-pronged challenges. Water crisis is acute in some parts. Basic amenities like health and education are in a fragile state. The educated youth are running from pillar to post for jobs. To highlight all these issues, they sought an appointment with the Governor, who is the constitutional guardian of TTAADC but he seems to be not willing to meet them, said Pradyot.

The Governor, however, is learnt to have refused to meet the TTAADC delegation as he has not been keeping well.

Many MLAs and MDCs of Motha participated in the  protest in front of the Raj Bhavan to voice their concerns over the Governor’s role and returned after submission of the memorandum to his office.

Pradyot speaking with media persons said that “today, we indigenous people of Tripura are being forced to live like second class citizens in their motherland. The indigenous people of Tripura deserved to live with dignity, peace and prosperity, but unfortunately, the sheer negligence of the state administration has led to unrest among the people.”

“We have been told that the Governor is not well. So far we know whenever someone from Kolkata or Delhi comes to meet him, he is quick to respond. But, all the elected representatives of the TTAADC do not deserve to meet him. This is a step motherly attitude,” Debbarma alleged.

According to the memorandum, the total budget of the TTAADC for the financial year 2022-23 was Rs 619.25 crore and Rs 126.59 crore of the total allocation is yet to be released by the state government. In the current financial year, only Rs 4.24 crore was released for carrying out development works in the TTAADC areas. Apart from that, a total of 10 Bills of five departments were pending for final approval of the Governor, along with 16 customary laws of different tribal communities.

Pradyot said that in their letter to the Governor, they have categorically said that if the state government does not act swiftly to settle their demands, then they will launch mass agitation across the state.

“The Tipra-Motha’s protests would not be against any particular community. Those who have deceived us will be the target of our protests. There is a trend of branding every agitation as communal, but we deprived people have no other option,” said Pradyot.