Tripura: TMP chief urges Centre to adopt 'stronger policy' against B'desh

Agartala, April 25 (IANS) Ruling BJP’s ally Tipra Motha Party (TMP) founder-chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma on Friday urged the Central government to adopt a stronger policy stance towards Bangladesh, accusing the neighbouring country of encouraging fundamentalist forces targeting Hindu minorities.

Debbarma, speaking after participating a programme organised by Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in Agartala Town Hall, voiced full support for India's recent response towards Pakistan after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

He submitted that similar resolve be shown in the eastern region against Bangladesh.

“Pakistan and Bangladesh aimed to encircle India, one from the western region and the other from the eastern region,” Debbarma said, stressing that incidents affecting eastern India deserve equal national attention and action.

“Delhi's proximity to Pakistan does not make us in the East any less Indian,” he remarked seeking uniform policy measures and actions across all borders along the country.

Raising security concerns, the tribal based party leader warned that China is developing an airbase in Bangladesh near North Bengal while top officials of Pakistan's ISI (Inter Service Intelligence) had reportedly visited Bangladesh just a month ago, indicating potential strategic threats to India’s northeastern region.

He further claimed that Tripura often has borne the brunt of fundamentalist movements in Bangladesh, especially in the wake of communal violence in regions like Noakhali, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, and Brahmanbaria, areas that were once part of greater princely ruled Tripura.

The TMP supremo linked the present-day tribal-non-tribal land disputes in Tripura to historical displacement, stating that many Hindus were compelled to migrate from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to Tripura due to religious persecution. Erstwhile Chakla Roshanabad comprising parts of Comilla, Noakhali, Sylhet, was a part of the Tripura’s previous royal Manikya dynasty, was later during the Partition included in East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh after the 1971 war.

--IANS

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