The Centre and the Tripura government on Wednesday signed a pact with banned insurgent outfits National Liberation Front of Tripura and All Tripura Tiger Force, under which 328 armed cadres agreed to give up violence.
A Memorandum of Settlement to this effect was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Manik Saha.
Shah said that the Centre has approved a special package of Rs 250 crore for the “overall development of the tribal population of Tripura”.
The home minister said that the pact signed on Wednesday was the 12th settlement for the North East and the third related to Tripura. “Through these agreements, about ten thousand insurgents have joined the mainstream by giving up arms,” Shah said, claiming that the agreements had been instrumental in preventing the loss of thousands of lives.
Tripura Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance Motha chief Pradyot Debbarma said that with Wednesday’s agreement having been signed, it was now time to work together on the Tiprasa Accord signed on March 4. Under the Tiprasa Accord, the Centre, the Tripura government and Debbarma’s organisation agreed to work together for an “honourable solution” to the problems that tribal communities face in the state.
The Tripura Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance Motha joined the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in March. Debbarma said at the time that his outfit allied with the BJP only after it was given a written assurance for a constitutional solution in the northeastern state.
The National Liberation Front of Tripura has been active since 1989, The Hindu reported. Its objective was to “liberate” Tripura from India, deport foreigners who entered the state after 1956 and restore tribal land that had been taken away. The All Tripura Tiger Force was formed with similar objectives in 1990.
According to the police, the National Liberation Front of Tripura was responsible for having killed over 600 persons, while the All Tripura Tiger Force was responsible for killing more than 300 persons and abducting hundreds of others.
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