Governor Satyadeo Narayan Arya declined a meeting with leaders from the TIPRA Motha Party (TMP), including its chairman Pradyot Kishore Debbarman.
The TMP leaders led by Debbarma arrived at Raj Bhawan on Friday morning without a prior appointment. Apart from Pradyot Kishore, the delegation comprised prominent TIPRA Motha leaders, such as the Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), Purna Chandra Jamatia, Executive Members (EMs) and others. The delegates intended to discuss the issue of financial discrimination against the TTAADC by the state government.
However, their attempts were unsuccessful as the Governor’s office cited the lack of a prior appointment and denied them an audience.
After being denied entry to the Raj Bhawan premises, Pradyot Kishore and his party colleagues, along with their supporters, staged a sit-in protest on the road in front of the Raj Bhawan gate. Despite the demonstration, the Governor remained firm in his decision not to meet with them.
Expressing his anguish and frustration, Pradyot Kishore took to social media to voice his concerns. He expressed, “Over the past several months, we have been requesting an appointment with the Hon’ble Governor to address critical issues affecting the indigenous people of the state. Unfortunately, for reasons known only to him and his office, we were not granted an appointment”.
He continued and said, “Today, our elected representatives, including the Hon’ble CEM, MLAs, EMs, and MDCs, were not even allowed to enter the Raj Bhawan to submit our memorandum. As the constitutional head of the state, we expect the Hon’ble Governor to impartially examine our grievances and instruct the State Government to take necessary actions.”
Meanwhile, the Tribal Student Federation (TSF), the student wing of TIPRA Motha Party, organized a dharna near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in the circuit house area in Agartala today. The primary demand put forward by the TSF was the adoption of the Roman script for the ‘Kokborok’ language, aiming to promote cultural preservation and inclusivity.
TIPRA Motha Party’s supremo, Pradyot Kishore Debbarma ‘extended my support to the protest organised by TSF today at Agartala, for the demand of inclusion of Roman Script for Kokborok in all examinations’.
