Normal life affected in Tripura during bandh called by civil society linked to Tipra Motha Party

Guwahati: Normal life was affected in Tripura as BJP’s ally the Tipra Motha Party (TMP)-affiliated civil society, called a 24-hour shutdown. BJP workers were attacked.

The bandh called in support of eight-point demands, including the deportation of illegal migrants. There were sit-in demonstrations at over 50 locations and in two railway tracks in West Tripura and Khowai districts.

A senior police officer said that large contingents of security forces, including the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), were deployed across the state. There was no untoward incident.


Private offices, shops, markets, and business establishments in many places remained closed. Movement of public vehicles on most highways, including National Highway-8, came to a halt as bandh supporters blockaded roads at several points.

The Tiprasa Civil Society (TCS), led by TMP MLA Ranjit Debbarma, called the 24-hour shutdown on Thursday to highlight its eight-point charter of demands.

The demands include the immediate implementation of the Tiprasa Accord, identification and deportation of all illegal immigrants, setting up of detention camps in each district for illegal immigrants, holding of elections to the Village Committees under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), and introduction of the Inner Line Permit system to prevent infiltration.

Debbarma said that several BJP-ruled states, including Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Delhi, have taken steps against illegal migrants, but the Tripura government has yet to act despite directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Chief Minister Manik Saha said that development cannot be stalled by observing strikes in the state. Without naming anyone or any party, he said that although an NGO has called the bandh, people know who is behind it.

CPI (M) Tripura state secretary and Leader of Opposition Jitendra Chaudhury, also opposing the shutdown, said that the demands on which the strike was called were not related to the common people.

TMP, which has 13 MLAs, joined the BJP-led coalition government in the state on March 7, 2024.Two TMP MLAs, Animesh Debbarma and Brishaketu Debbarma, were inducted into the ministry headed by Chief Minister Manik Saha.