Congress threatens to launch statewide agitation against CAA in Tripura

The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) on Monday threatened to launch a protest against the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the state.

Addressing a press conference here, senior Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman said granting citizenship to selected migrants will alter the demographic composition of both Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and non-ADC areas.

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.

Barman noted that the current 31 per cent reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Tripura will automatically decrease if the population of non-tribals increases after citizenship 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 embolden extremists in other countries to intensify their persecution of religious minorities.

Criticising Tipra Motha without directly naming it, Barman questioned why the ”messiah” of Tiprasa people, an indirect reference to Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, remained silent on the CAA’s implementation.

”The Tipra Motha was established to oppose the CAA, yet the regional party is now silent. Its 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 since the autonomous tribal council is part of the state,” he said.

”We strongly oppose the CAA’s implementation and will submit a memorandum to the chief secretary on Tuesday. Following that, the party, along with its tribal wing, Adivasi Congress, will launch a statewide protest against this controversial Act,” he added.