Agartala (Tripura): Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varman who also holds the charge of BJP Jananjati Morcha Prabhari on Sunday revealed that the common minimum programme set between BJP and IPFT prior to the election has not included IPFT’s demand of Tipraland and observed that the new alliance that was formed a few days back between IPFT and Pradyot Kishore Debbarman’s TIPRA was a “reunion of the dissenting factions of the IPFT that left the party due to some internal reasons best known to them”.
“People like Buddha Debbarma, Chitta Debbarma were once affiliated to the IPFT. But, later they left the party followed by some internal reasons for which they are the best persons to talk about. And, the joint press conference that has been held a few days back, all the dissenters have been seen in the same picture—it is like a reunion as per my observations”, Dev Varma said.
On being asked specifically whether the BJP and IPFT would fight the elections together, he said, “BJP is a positive party and it handles every situation with positivity. We are hopeful that the alliance between BJP and IPFT shall remain intact but there some factors that require attention to be paid. This is a dynamic alliance not like the Left Front where the junior allies like RSP and Forward Bloc have been nowhere”.
To a query regarding the meeting at his residence and the newly coined term of Greater Tipraland, he said, the IPFT is an alliance partner and so the party has just played its role to hold talks and some other meetings may also take place. On Tipraland, he said, “see it is not a new demand. Even since IPFT and BJP have not been in an alliance, they are demanding Tipraland. But, the point is in the common minimum programme finalized between BJP and IPFT, the demand of Tipraland has been excluded and thus BJP has nothing to do with it. IPFT is an independent party so they have all the liberty. And, BJP has alliances with not less than 22 parties across the country so it does not mean all the demands of alliance partners are supported by BJP. The parties always come into a common minimum programme for forging an alliance”.
The Minister also informed the media that a proposal of Rs 8,000 crore had been sent to the Centre through the high power committee formed by the Ministry of Home Affairs for the social, economic, cultural and linguistic development of the indigenous people of Tripura.
Read: Ruling alliance in Tripura will stay intact: Biplab Kumar Deb
