Politics / Tripura

Agartala, June 28: CPI minister Manindra Reang, who had allegedly been forced to sign his letter of resignation from the cabinet by CPM miscreants, has denied media reports on the issue and the statement made by CPI party secretary Prashanta Kopali yesterday. In statement faxed to CPM office and circulated by CPM workers, Reang said he supported the downsizing of the ministry as required by the 97th Amendment of the Constitution and had voluntarily sent his letter of resignation to chief minister Manik Sarkar. He described the media reports as “totally baseless and malicious”.

AGARTALA, June 28 – CPI, a constituent of the ruling Left Front in Tripura, alleged that CPI-M cadres forced the party’s lone minister, Manindra Reang, to sign the resignation paper on Sunday in a bid to downsize the ministry. The CPI-M had decided to drop five of its ministers from the Cabinet and requested the CPI to drop Manindra Reang, Tribal Welfare Minister. But the CPI rejected the request arguing that Manindra was its lone representative in the Council of Ministers.

Prashanta Kapali, the state secretary of the CPI, told reporters that “Manindra had received a number of threats over...

Agartala, June 27: The crisis triggered by the downsizing of the Manik Sarkar ministry took a new turn today, with the CPI alleging that strong-arm tactics were used to force its lone representative in the cabinet to quit. A group of CPM supporters allegedly forced Manindra Reang, minister for the primitive group programme, to resign today.

Reang was also forced to leave Agartala for his home at Bagafa in Belonia subdivision to avoid meeting the media.

CPI state secretary Prashanta Kopali claimed that a group of CPM goons went to Reang’s official residence here at 1 pm and threatened him...

Agartala, June 26: The ruling Left Front’s move to downsize the 18-member council of ministers in Tripura to 12 has encountered a hurdle with the CPI, a constituent of the Front, refusing to withdraw its lone representative from the government. At a meeting of the state unit of the CPM, the leaders unanimously decided to relieve five of the party’s ministers to comply with the 97th Amendment.

Later, at a meeting of the Left Front, the CPM requested the CPI to withdraw minister for primitive group programme Manindra Reang from the cabinet. However, secretary of the CPI’s state unit Prashanta...

Agartala, June 22: The banned Biswamohan faction of the National Liberation Front of Tripura has demanded a ransom of Rs 60 lakh for releasing 24 hostages. Twenty-three small traders were abducted on June 14 from Quairi area under Vangmun police station in Kanchanpur subdivision of north Tripura.

A group of 25 heavily-armed NLFT militants had stopped two vehicles carrying 60 passengers at 6.30 am on that day. The vehicles were going towards Kawanpui on the occasion of market day at the trijunction of Tripura, Bangladesh and Mizoram.

The militants had selected 24 non-tribals, including the...

Agartala, June 22: Activists of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (Biswamohan faction) have intensified activities in Gandacherra subdivision of South district. A group of rebels has reportedly driven out over 1,200 tribals from five villages for refusing to pay “tax” and to prevent police from gathering information from them.

Official sources said on June 12, a team of Tripura State Rifles jawans had fought an hourlong gunbattle with NLFT militants in the jungle near the Kalajhari village. Two rebels were injured but managed to flee with the rest of the gang. Villagers later told the...

Agartala, June 15: Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar today expressed concern over the sudden spurt in militant attacks, reflected in the killing of a party worker and abduction of 31 people over the past few days. Sarkar said the militants were trying to make their presence felt as they were demoralised by the return to mainstream of two groups of the National Liberation Front of Tripura — Nayanbasi Jamatya and Mantu Koloi-Kamini Debbarma combine.

Sarkar told the Assembly that militants belonging to the All Tripura Tiger Force and the Biswamohan Jamatya group of the NLFT, who had set up...

Agartala, June 15: Tripura’s increasing number of insurgency-hit non-tribal refugees has demanded adequate security from the government and their inclusion in the “cluster village” scheme. The Left Front government has implemented the scheme for tribal refugees in the interior areas. However, more than 10,000 non-tribal refugees, who have been ejected from the homes in the Jampui Jala and Takarjala areas under Bishalgarh subdivision, have requested the government to include them in the special rehabilitation programme.

The non-tribals in the sub-division bore the brunt of the Tripura...

Agartala, June 14: The mass abductions by the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT)’s Biswamohan Debbarma group this morning belied speculation about the outfit planning to follow the path shown by the two factions which suspended hostilities in April.

The Nayanbasi Jamatya and Mantu Koloi-Kamini Debbarma factions signed tripartite agreements with the Centre and the state government in New Delhi on April 15 and surrendered thereafter, giving insurgency-scarred Tripura something to cheer about after a long time.

Most people thought the stronger Biswamohan faction would follow suit, but...

AGARTALA, June 14 – A group of about 30 insurgents of banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (Biswamohan group) kidnapped 37 persons, mostly small traders, from Kampui-Bhandarima road in North Tripura district from two vehicles in the wee hours today, police said, reports PTI. However, later they released 13 persons, mostly tribals, police said. The small traders were going to a market at Kampui, a hill top tribal hamlet bordering Mizoram to sell goods and agricultural and horticultural products. SP (North) Arbinder Singh and District Magistrate Debotosh Dutta rushed to the spot with...