SOURCE-THE TIMES OF INDIA
AGARTALA: The Indigenous Peoples' Front of Tripura (IPFT), a Tripura-based tribal organization, has stepped up its demand for carving out a separate state comprising tribal-dominated autonomous district councils (ADC) in the state.
About 5,000 people, including women, from different parts of the state organized a rally to Raj Bhawan where they submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through governor Devanand Konwar.
While addressing the gathering, IPFT leaders criticized the role of the ruling Left Front government over lack tribal development in the state. They demanded elevation of the ADCs to a state where about 33 per cent people are tribals.
They also expressed their solidarity towards the movement for separate states in Assam and West Bengal. IPFT president N C Debbarma alleged that tribals in Tripura have no other option but to resort to an agitation to accomplish their demand for self-development.
Justifying the demand for a separate state, he said unless the ADCs are given the status of a state, the tribal people in the state would always remain deprived.
"Had the ADCs been funded directly by the Centre the pace of development of the tribals would have been much better," Debbarma said.
He alleged the present ADCs constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution has failed to safeguard the culture, tradition, language and land of the Indigenous people.
In another development, the Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) called a public meeting against the demand for a separate state on Wednesday. On Thursday, INPT's student wind, Twipra Students Union also protested against the creation of any separate state. At a Buddhist convention on Thursday CM Manik Sarkar expressed concern over the separate state agitations across the country and urged Buddhist monks to help youth stay away from such movements.
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