AGARTALA: Advocating for Greater Tipraland, Tipra Motha chief Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma said on Friday that if Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram could get statehood, a separate state can be carved out of Tripura for the Tiprasa people.
Addressing a rally in Khowai district's Moharcherra, Debbarma said that if the Tiprasa people remain united for the next 10 months, Greater Tipraland demand will be achievable.
Tripura is scheduled to go to the polls in early 2023.
"Neither Akbar nor Aurangzeb had landed in Tripura nor did British rulers come here and the small territory remained independent. All these have happened after the death of Maharaja Bir Birkram Kishore Manikya," he said.
Calling upon the people for "one fight", he said that for the last 70 years, the aspirations of the Tiprasa people have not been fulfilled.
"The family that had gifted Tripura to India is now branded 'Jinnah' or Pakistani, because I am advocating for Greater Tipraland.
Those who are blaming me or my family will get a befitting reply in the 2023 assembly elections," Debbarma said.
"The chief minister of Assam used to claim that Nagaland will not get statehood, but today it is a state. Likewise, Meghalaya and Mizoram also state. If they could get the statehood, why would Tiprasa remain deprived?" he asked.
Attacking the BJP, Debbarma said the Tiprasa tribals will not get allured this time.
"The mighty party had to suffer defeat at the hand of a small regional party (Tipra Motha) in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) elections. If we (Tiprasas) remain united for the next 10 months from now, the demand of Greater Tipraland will be achievable," he said.
In the last TTAADC elections, Tipra Motha won 18 of the 28 seats, while BJP managed to bag 10 seats in a multi-corner fight.
The tribal outfits of Tripura have been demanding a separate state for the indigenous population, claiming that their "survival" was at stake.
Tripura was a kingdom ruled by the Manikya dynasty before it joined India in 1949.
The demand for a separate state is fuelled by the demographic change after Partition with lakhs of Bengalis from then East Pakistan (now, Bangladesh) settling in Tripura, which reduced the indigenous communities to a minority.