Tipra-Motha stages protest rally demanding deportation of ‘infiltrators’

Ruling BJP ally Tipra Motha on Monday organized a rally demanding the push-back of “illegal migrants” from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Led by Tipra-Motha senior leader and party’s legislator Ranjit Debbarma, several hundred party workers carrying the Tricolour took part in the rally, which went around the capital city.

Participants raised slogans demanding strict implementation of the orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) concerning the identification, detention, and deportation of illegal migrants.

Debbarma launched a sharp critique against the BJP-led government of Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, accusing it of prioritizing "vote-bank politics" over national security.

The tribal leader noted that the BJP-ruled states like Assam and Gujarat had taken firm steps against illegal infiltrators. Debabrma and the participants in the rally congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for issuing orders to all states to push back the infiltrators into their countries.

Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma said on Sunday that they would soon meet with the Union Home Minister in New Delhi to urge him to take drastic steps against infiltrators.

Debbarma, a former royal scion, said that illegal infiltrators would jeopardize the socio-economic and customary aspects of the state's indigenous people, especially the tribals.

"The Government should take stringent steps to prevent the illegal infiltrators from entering India. Those already illegally staying in Tripura and other states must be pushed back immediately," the Motha chief told.

He said that the situation in Bangladesh continues to remain volatile due to the internal violence that began there in June-July last year, especially after the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5, 2024.

Meanwhile, Tipra-Motha, a tribal-based party, launched a widespread anti-infiltration campaign across Tripura last month. The party’s senior leader and Forest and Environment Minister Animesh Debbama had said that no infiltrators would be allowed to stay in Tripura.

“Government should deport those infiltrators who came to Tripura after March 1971," Debbarma said.

Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha earlier said that infiltrators from Bangladesh also realized that Tripura is not a safe zone for them, adding that all security agencies are on a high alert to prevent illegal infiltrators from entering India.

“After the trouble began in Bangladesh, security forces maintained a close vigil along the border to foil any kind of infiltration bid,” CM Dr Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, had told the media.

The Chief Minister recently held meetings with the senior security officials of different agencies, including BSF, and requested the officials in the state to maintain close coordination among them to deal with the border-related issues.

Tripura, which has an 856 km border with Bangladesh, is surrounded on three sides by the neighbouring country, making the northeastern state very vulnerable and sensitive to cross-border migration issues and other crimes.

Except for some patches, most of the frontier had been fenced to prevent smuggling, trans-border crimes, and cross-border illegal movements by infiltrators and inimical elements.