Congress to launch statewide protest against CAA, asked question over silence of Tipra-Motha

Opposition Tripura Pradesh Congress on Monday threatened to launch a statewide protest against implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act.

Speaking with media persons at Congress Bhavan on Monday afternoon, senior Congress leader and MLA Sudip Roy Barman said that implementation of  CAA to selected migrants will change Tripura's demographic composition and reduce the reservation quota for Scheduled Tribes (ST).

The BJP-led state government has formed a committee to process CAA applications and Roy Barman accused it is a political move by the ruling party during the election process in the country.

He said that the CAA will change the demographic composition of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and non-ADC areas.

Roy Barman said that at present  31 percent reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Tripura will automatically decrease if the population of non-tribals increases after CAA is granted to the ''thousands'' of migrants from the three countries.

He accused the BJP of using the CAA for political gain and warned that the move would encourage extremists in other countries to intensify their persecution of religious minorities living in three countries.

Strongly criticising Tipra-Motha, now alliance partner of Tripura government, Roy Barman without naming Pradyot Kishore Debbarman, questioned  over the silence of  supremo of  Tipra-Motha  and claimed that  Tipra Motha was established to oppose the CAA, but, now the regional party is silent.

Their leaders claim the Act won't be implemented in the Sixth Schedule Areas of the state, but if the CAA is enforced, the entire state's demographics will change  and ADC areas are also the part of the state, said Sudip.

The Congress strongly opposes the CAA's implementation and will submit a memorandum to the chief secretary on Tuesday and the tribal wing, Adivasi Congress, will launch a statewide protest against this controversial Act,, he said.

It may be recalled here that the BJP-led government has formed a six-member empowered committee in the state to process applications for citizenship under the CAA. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 paves the way for granting Indian nationality to undocumented non-Muslim migrants - Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians - from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014.