Pradyot urges restraint as row erupts over DM's refusal to meet TIPRA Motha leaders
TIPRA Motha founder and royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarman has appealed to his supporters not to target the Chakma community after a senior bureaucrat from the tribe allegedly refused to meet with leaders of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
The party claimed that Gomati District Magistrate Tarit Kumar Chakma, the first direct recruit to the IAS from the Chakma tribe - Tripura's fourth-largest indigenous group - had declined to meet with Pradyot Kishore and TTAADC Chief Executive Member Purna Chandra Jamatia at his official residence in Udaipur on Sunday evening. The leaders had sought an audience to discuss urgent matters concerning welfare and development.
The incident triggered sharp political reactions and a social media backlash. Opposition leaders criticised the DM's conduct, with CPI(M) state secretary and Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Choudhury and Congress leader and former Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman accusing the BJP government of failing to rein in the bureaucracy.
Mr. Choudhury went so far as to compare the attitude of some senior civil servants in the State to British-era ICS officers. 'The BJP has emboldened bureaucrats to disregard public representatives and the people they serve,' he said.
TIPRA Motha supporters took to social media to voice their discontent, with some posts targeting the Chakma community as 'infiltrators' and accusing them of undermining the unity of Tripura's indigenous peoples.
Amid rising tensions, the party's youth wing issued a 76-hour ultimatum demanding the DM's removal, threatening to lock government offices in Gomati district if the demand was not met. The youth leaders also condemned what they termed 'disrespect' shown to the royal scion.
In a video message shared on Monday, Mr. Debbarman called for restraint. 'I appeal to all to behave reasonably and take things positively. I have support in the Chakma community as well. I love everyone irrespective of community identity,' he said.
Mr. Debbarman reiterated the need for unity among indigenous communities and cautioned against divisive rhetoric. 'We should not make this about any community,' he said.
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