Congress on Monday invited Pradyot Kishore Manikya to merge his Tipraha Indigenous Peoples Regional Alliance (TIPRA) with it as party leader and MLA Sudip Roy Barman said they would accept the royal scion as leader and were ready to work under his leadership.
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“We have much respect for the royal family. It was Congress which made your (Pradyot’s) parents Members of Parliament,” Mr. Barman said while addressing a rally outside Congress Bhavan here organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Recalling that Mr. Manikya was in Congress for years, Mr. Barman stated that Congress had entrusted posts of PCC President and AICC Secretary to him for his leadership ability. “I want to assure him, we would stand shoulder to shoulder with him if he decides to make a comeback to Congress and lead the party,” he added.
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Mr. Manikya left Congress in early 2020 after party high command cautioned him not to publicly speak on plights and rights of the indigenous people. After quitting he raised TIPRA in 2021 and led a massive win in elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) as it sailed through on its Greater Tipraland (separate state for minority indigenous people) plank.
The regional party also became the State’s main Opposition party after winning 13 seats in February 2023 assembly elections. The party recently shook by defections with senior leaders like Sridam Debbarma and Dinesh Debbarma deserting and reviving a small political outfit called Tipraland State Party (TSP).
The function to mark Gandhi Jayanti also welcomed former Minister and CPI leader Manindra Reang and several others from various parties. PCC President Asish Kumar Saha presided over the joining programme.
TIPRA has not yet officially responded to the merger call of the Congress. A party leader said ‘Bubagra’ (meaning king in the tribal Kokborok dialect) may speak on the issue.
Mr. Manikya was not available for comment but he posted an old photo featuring Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallavbhai Patel on his social media pages and captioned it stating “3 great men who shaped Bharat /India - We are a great country because the founders had a vision and the compassion for the nation . On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti we remember the father of the nation”.