Putting all speculations to rest, tribal rights activist and Tripura People's Front (TPF) chief Patal Kanya Jamatia on Sunday joined Bharatiya Janata Party at a programme in Agartala city.
Senior BJP leaders including Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, state party president Dr Manik Saha, Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik and others welcomed newcomers to the party.
Hundreds of TPF workers attended the joining programme wearing the saffron scarf and initiated their new political journey.
While addressing the rally, Jamatia said, "The main reason behind this political step is to ensure safety, security and peace for the people living in the hills."
Tripura People's Front was formed in the year 2014 to give voice to the indigenous rights movement. The TPF commenced its political activities a few years back and fielded candidates in the previous Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council elections in alliance with Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA).
The alliance parted away as differences grew between TIPRA and TPF and all the candidates were withdrawn.
Accusing TIPRA Motha of violence, she said, "last night miscreants backed by TIPRA Motha threatened people of dire consequences if they arrived at the joining function. Roads had been blocked to prevent our supporters and vehicles were denied for hiring."
"These tactics can't prevent me. TPF stands as a symbol of development and peace. They say 'Greater Tipraland', I am telling you, it is 'Greater Unity' between tribes and non-tribes which is required for overall development of the masses. We all should ensure our peaceful co-existence", said Jamatia.
Lauding Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, she said, "he is the first Chief Minister of Tripura who wants to create equal opportunities for tribals as well as non-tribes.It is a historic day and we all shall work hard to ensure that the double engine government gets two more engines by establishing governments in TTAADC and Village Councils".
Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said, "I want to congratulate Patal for her courageous fight. Despite so many obstacles, she came with such a huge gathering. My support is always with you, don't worry, Modi ji is with you, the Home Minister is with you, JP Nadda, Jishnu and the whole country is with you. Today I got another sister in the form of Patal Kanya and a brother knows how to keep his sister safe from imminent threats."
Speaking exclusively toon the sidelines of the joining programme, Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik launched a scathing attack on TIPRA and said, "Patal Kanya Jamatia in her speech said that BJP is the only party that really thinks about the indigenous people. She explained that not Greater Tipraland but Greater Unity can give more strength to the state. Some leaders are there who are trying to misguide and mislead people in the name of Greater Tipraland."
On being asked after the programme, Jamatia said, "the political activities of TPF will be stopped completely but its fight for the social causes shall continue under the same banner. Politically, the entire TPF is now part of the BJP".
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor