Congress made a startling claim on Thursday that the alliance deal between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) was finalised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The deal included TIPRA joining the State’s coalition government and the selection of a candidate for the East Tripura Lok Sabha tribal reserved constituency, it alleged.
Former Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman alleged in a press conference at the Congress Bhavan that the current political situation is a result of a pact between Pradyot Kishore Debbarman and former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who went to Dubai to finalise the deal. Mr. Barman further alleged that two more people accompanied them to Dubai, but he would not name them at this time.
The Congress MLA also claimed that Union MoS Pratima Bhowmik and Rebati Tripura, who were elected as BJP nominees in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, were denied tickets due to the manoeuvring of TIPRA and BJP leadership. The BJP has nominated former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha Member Biplab Kumar Deb in the West Tripura constituency and Kirti Singh Debbarma, the elder sister of TIPRA founder Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, in the West and East Tripura constituencies respectively.
Kirti Singh Debbarma is officially a BJP candidate, but she was selected as part of an electoral alliance with TIPRA. Kirti, accompanied by her brother, was welcomed by supporters of TIPRA at MBB Airport on Thursday, a day after the BJP announced her name for east constituency.
Pradyot told reporters that it was important to select their own candidate (Kirti Singh Debbarma) who can speak and support issues pertaining to indigenous people who have been discriminated against for the past 75 years. He specifically thanked Home Minister Amit Shah for choosing his sister as a candidate.
Responding to the charges levelled by Sudip Roy Barman, he said that everyone knows that Congress had an understanding with CPI(M) to help latter to remain in power for 25 years. He predicted an easy win for BJP candidates in both the West and East Tripura constituencies.
Former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb was not immediately available for comment, but one of his close aides said that Deb is aware of the “false accusations” of Sudip Roy Barman and he will soon respond.
