BJP makes development of Tripura's tribal areas top priority: Amit Shah

Amit Shah, in an election rally in Tripura, emphasized the BJP's commitment to tribal development. He highlighted various accomplishments, including the renaming of the Agartala airport after Maharaja Bir Bikram, increased tribal budget, and initiatives to uplift the Bru tribe. Shah criticized the Left Front for their alleged failures and accused them of supporting illegal immigrants.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said development of the tribal areas in Tripura is a priority for the BJP, and asserted that all issues of the community have been taken care of in the ''historic agreement'' signed with Tipra Motha, a party which joined the state government last month.

Measures for harmony between communities and the development of the state have been ensured in the agreement, he said, accusing the CPI(M)-led Left Front of spreading misinformation.

Addressing an election rally in Kumarghat, Shah alleged the Congress and CPI(M) which had ruled the state for several years tried to belittle the contribution of the erstwhile 'Maharaja' of the state, Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya.

''It was PM Narendra Modi who gave due respect to Maharaja Bir Bikram by naming the Agartala airport after him, and installing his statue,'' he said.

Shah claimed that the Congress and the Left never allowed anyone from the tribal community to hold a higher position in government.

''PM Modi, for the first time, honoured tribals by giving India a president from the community,'' he said.

''Before 2014, the budget for the Ministry of Tribal Affairs was Rs 24,000 crore. Under PM Modi, it increased to Rs 1,25,000 crore,'' he added.

Shah said a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was being set up in Sabroom at a cost of Rs 1,550 crore, and it will attract investments and create employment opportunities for the people of the state.

Attacking the CPI(M), he claimed that the communists handed over guns to the youths, while PM Modi provided them with laptops.

''It is PM Modi who facilitated more than 10 accords in the Northeast, and paved the way for 10,000 youths to return to the mainstream,'' he said.

Listing the development initiatives undertaken by the BJP-led government at the Centre, Shah said Tripura got Rs 40,183 crore during 10 years of the UPA's rule, and during PM Modi's tenure, it got Rs 98,000 crore.

The union minister said the 40,000-odd Bru tribe people, who had fled their homeland Mizoram following ethnic violence in the late 1990s, were resettled in 2022 in Tripura after living there for years in penury.

He noted that under the Modi government's leadership, efforts were made to establish well-equipped villages to improve their living conditions.

The Union home minister criticized the communists for allegedly instigating conflict among the people of Tripura and failing to foster development in the state.

The CPI(M) ruled the state first for a decade from 1978 to 1988, and then for 25 years – between 1993 and 2018.

Alleging that the Left provided shelter to illegal immigrants in Tripura, Shah urged the people to ensure a third term for PM Modi to stop cross-border infiltration completely.

Responding to the Union minister’s statement on the agreement with the Tipra Motha, CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury sought to know the roadmap of the pact and what exactly the Centre is committing to the indigenous people.

“Nothing is clear in the agreement, except a proposal for setting up a joint working group. I appeal to the Union minister to throw light on the agreement since he visited the state for the first time after signing the accord,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)