Accepting Greater Tipraland demand will open Pandora’s Box in northeast: Sarma

Sarma said that the Modi government has worked very hard to bring peace and development in northeast. Hence certain demands which open up the Pandora's Box are not acceptable

New Delhi, Feb 06: The ruling BJP in Tripura has made it clear that the demand for a separate state for tribals in the state is not acceptable.

Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma made the comment after Chief Minister of Tripura Manik Saha said that the demand to form Greater Tipraland by splitting Tripura will not be possible.

Speaking with India Today in Guwahati, Sarma said that accepting the demand would be like opening a Pandora's Box and this will trigger similar demands in other sates in the region. Sarma who is also the BJP's main trouble shooter in North East also the demand made by the Tiara Motha Party cannot be accepted. He also made it clear that whether the BJP wins or loses the elections, if the Motha sticks to the demand, the BJP will not form any alliance with the party that is headed by Pradyot Manikya Debbarman, the scion of Tripura's royal family.

We cannot create a Pandora's Box for power in the northeast, Sarma said. He also alleged that the Tipra Motha is only raising this demand to grab power in the state. "If you give in to this demand, then similar demands will be triggered in other states," he said.

"The BJP has told the Tipra Motha that they are ready to discuss anything except for a demand for a Greater Tipraland state. If Motha continues with this demand even after the elections, then BJP will not have any kind of relationship with the party," CM Sarma also said.

"One cannot create a mess out of the hard-earned peace in the region. Many such demands in other northeast states have been eliminated thanks to the initiatives of the Modi government. Peace and development to these states have come after much difficulty post 2015 and all of that will be negated if such a demand is accepted," Sarma also said.

He also said that tribal organisations can demand more autonomy and greater financial authority. They should however not demand for the division of the state. 'We do not want to open a Pandora's Box, whether we are in power or not,' he also added.

There are a lot of fault-lines in the northeast. There are fault lines in the rest of the country among states, and within the states. It was a fragile co-existence, but a lot of disputes have been resolved after 2014, Sarma added. It would hence cause immense problems if the demand for a separate state is accepted, he added.

Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed confidence that the BJP and NDA will return to power in Tripura and the other poll bound states of Nagaland and Meghalaya. The BJP is certain to join alliance governments in Meghalaya and Nagaland and will return to power in Tripura, he added.