Agartala: Empowerment of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) would be the focus of discussion in the 20th conference of Tripura Upajati Gana Mukti Parishad (TUGMP), tribal wing of the ruling CPI-M, to begin on Saturday next.
“Gana Mukti Parishad was formed in 1948 to protect and safeguard the tribals and the tribal council was also formed with the same motto. The issue of its more empowerment would be discussed with utmost importance in our conference beginning from Saturday next,” Tripura forest minister, Jitendra Chowdhury, also a prominent tribal leader, said.
He said, the tribal council came into being in 1987 under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to safeguard and protect the tribals who form one-third of the state’s population.
The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), a major non-Left party in Tripura had on Tuesday demanded uniform empowerment of all Autonomous District Councils (ADC) in the north eastern region for development of the tribals.
The party, an electoral ally of the opposition Congress would submit a memorandum of five point charter of demands including uniform empowerment of the tribal councils to the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister in the last week of this month, party president Bijoy Hrankhawl had said.
Chowdhury, also Assistant Secretary of TUGMP said, our party believes that unity and communal harmony coupled with good governance can make the state prosperous and empowering the tribal council is a necessary step.
The conference would be held in Khowai district, which would be addressed among others by CPI-M Politburo member Brinda Karat and Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. Leaders from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam would also take part in the conference, Chowdhury said, adding the main slogan of the conference would be to form a self-sufficient state. (PTI)
