Agartala: With Lok Sabha elections in mind, the opposition Congress wants to offer a ‘consolation prize’ to it’s longtime ally- Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) by arranging a meeting with Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.
The agenda of the meeting, INPT sources said would be empowerment of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Shinde is scheduled to meet Congress Legislator Party (CLP) leader Sudip Roy Barman and INPT president BK Hrangkhawl in Delhi on January 31, said Rajeshwar Debbarma, Asst. General Secretary of the INPT here today.
“Handing over education up to University level, control over land and revenue and direct funding to the tribal council will be on the table when the meeting gets underway at South Block, headquarters of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’, he said.
Debbarma said the INPT has been demanding for empowerment of TTAADC for long time. “
The Congress leadership had assured us to bring a Bill empowering the autonomous district councils of the NE in the last winter session but it has not happened. Now, we will press to bring the same Bill in the upcoming session of the Lok Sabha, might be last session of the Congress led UPA government”, he said.
The INPT wants the Centre to give more power to the tribal council so that it could fulfill the aspirations of the indigenous people living in the TTAADC areas, he said adding that tribal people have been suffering due to lackadaisical attitude of the Left Front government.
On being asked about the electoral alliance with the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections, Debbarma said, “All eyes are on the Delhi meeting. If we get assurance of empowering the TTAADC, we will remain certainly with the Congress. The INPT wants tribal council to work for up-liftment of tribal people without depending on the state government”.
