Agartala, March 4 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said the issues raised by the Tipra Motha Party (TMP) need to be discussed by the Centre and the new BJP government in Tripura.
Sarma, who is also the convener of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), said that talks between the BJP and the TMP may resume but it should be under the Constitutional framework, and not on the condition of dividing Tripura.
The issues related to the tribals can be heard and discussed, the Assam Chief Minister told the media.
“The election results were the outcome of people’s faith and trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. BJP is keen to work with all concerned and for the benefit of all,” said Sarma, who visited Tripura on Saturday for the first time after the BJP came to power in Tripura for the second consecutive term.
Sarma, who before the assembly polls held several rounds of negotiations with TMP supremo and former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman, said that talks can resume but we cannot talk about ‘Greater Tipraland State’.
He said that because of Prime Minister Modi’s good governance, the BJP and its allies are leading in most northeastern states.
Sarma, who discussed with Tripura BJP leaders about the formation of a second saffron party-led government, said that the swearing in ceremony in Tripura would be held on March 8, while in Meghalaya and Nagaland, it would be held on March 7.
The influential tribal based TMP, which has been demanding elevation of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) into a full-fledged state by granting a ‘Greater Tipraland State’ or a separate state under Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution, for the first time contested the Tripura assembly elections and secured 13 seats.
Contesting assembly polls for the first time, the TMP fielded 42 seats in the February 16 elections.
–IANS
sc/pgh
