For Tripura Tribals' Statehood Demand, Leader's Ram Temple Question

The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance or TIPRA has emerged as a key player in this election in the Northeastern state.

With less than a month to go for the Tripura Assembly polls, erstwhile royal and tribal leader Pradyot Manikya Debbarman said his party is confident of a good show and stressed that it not compromise with its "core ideology" of a 'Greater Tipraland' to forge any alliance.

The Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance or TIPRA, which has been voicing tribals' issues and demanding a separate state or Union Territory for the indigenous population, has emerged as a key player in this election in the Northeastern state.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Debbarman said the Northeast has got a "raw deal" in the 75 years of Independence. "When we talk to the rest of the country, we speak from the point of view of Northeast and Tripura. The problem with national parties is they don't want to listen to our voice which they feel uncomfortable with," said Mr Debbarman, a former state Congress chief who quit the party in 2019 following a fallout with the central leadership.

Mr Debbarman said no matter which party is in the power, the central government needs to realise that "if you keep ignoring the sentiments and voice of the people in the far-flung areas of the Northeast, then there will be parties which will come up and not compromise on the basic identity and survival of its people".