Agartala, Dec. 29: The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) successfully weathered some dissidents? bid to split the party in its state conference here even as it sprang a surprise by demanding 2,060 square miles of more areas within the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC). The tribal-based party created more organisational posts to accommodate the dissidents who had challenged the leadership of Bijay Kumar Hrangkhawal as president and Rabindra Debbarma as general secretary, sources within the INPT said.
Both Hrangkhawal and Debbarma managed to retain their positions in the new party executive council formed during the two-day conference.
The conference ended here yesterday.
But the leaders had to increase the number of posts of assistant general secretaries and organising secretaries from three to eight each.
The number of posts of vice-presidents was also increased from two to four to include veteran leaders Nagendra Jamatya, Kripamohan Reang, Ananda Debbarma and Amiya Debbarma.
The leader of a dissident group N.C. Debbarma was made chairman of the advisory committee in place of Shyama Charan Tripura.
Ousted vice-president Debabrata Koloi was not accommodated in the 31-member state committee of the party.
The party gave no explanation on its demand for including more areas in the TTAADC. The council?s purview already covers 68.10 per cent of the state?s land.
The demand tops the 27-point charter of demands passed by the party during the state conference.
Sources in the ruling CPM, however, ruled out the demand as unjustifiable.
The INPT?s other demands include reservation of 50 per cent of Assembly seats for tribals, more seats for the state in Parliament, construction of fences on the Bangladesh border, renaming of the TTAADC as Borok Autonomous Council and establishment of a separate board of secondary education for district council areas.
Significantly, the charter of demands passed by the INPT?s state conference does not include demand for upgradation of the TTAADC to an autonomous state under Article 244 (A) of the Constitution and extension of inner-line regulations. These were the two key demands of the party.
The party has drawn up an agitation plan from February 1 to February 24 next year to press for its charter of demands.
A rally would be held in Agartala on February 24. A ?civil disobedience movement? would be launched in April next year if the demands were not met, the sources in the tribal-based party said.