Will Not Allow Outsider to Stay in Tripura Even After They Become Citizens, Says Former State Cong Chief

Agartala: Former Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president and royal scion, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Deb Burman, who has recently floated an apolitical the organisation, TIPRA, on Saturday said, the illegal immigrants, who would be legitimised after implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would not be allowed to stay in the state.

The founder of Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) said this while addressing a large gathering at Khumulwng, the headquarters of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), 20 km from here.

"Our state has accommodated a large number of migrants from the then East Pakistan after the partition of the country and has no space to accommodate anymore," Deb Barman said. "After implementation of CAA, a sizeable number of people coming from foreign countries would get citizenship, but none of them could be resettled in our state," he said.

He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take all the foreigners, who would get citizenship after the implementation of CAA, to Gujarat Tamil Nadu or in other states except Tripura or any part of the Northeastern region.

"We are proud Indians and we oppose this bill (sic) because it would harm the prospect the indigenous people of the state and the existence of our community would be at stake," he said. Before joining Indian union in 1949, Tripura was a princely state and ruled by a tribal king, and due to influx of people from East Pakistan the majority tribals were reduced to minority.

He has also appealed to people to reject all political parties, adding, they divided people for their interests and to increase their vote banks. "We should reject all the political parties and the

politicians, because they divided people for their party interest and to swell their vote banks", he said.

Without naming any political party, Deb Barman said, some quarters also tried to create a communal conflict between the indigenous people and the Bengalis of the state.

"We are the indigenous people of the state, but we are not against Bengalis. After the rally, you people have to promise me that you are not going to attack Bengalis because they are not our enemies, the main enemies are the politicians who have sold us," he said.

Deb Barman's grandfather Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur was the last king of Tripura.