BJP seeks probe into alleged recruitment misdeeds in Tipra Motha led Tripura tribal council

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday demanded a probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment within the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).

Since 2021, the BJP's ally, the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), has governed the strategically significant TTAADC, widely regarded as the second most important constitutional and political institution in Tripura after the state Assembly.

A five-member BJP delegation on Sunday met Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu at the Lok Bhavan and submitted a memorandum seeking an inquiry into the recruitment of 120 posts in the TTAADC.

Senior BJP leader and former Lok Sabha member Rebati Tripura, who led the delegation, alleged that the present TTAADC administration has been engaged in rampant corruption.

"The entire administration acted in ways that enabled massive corruption, misappropriation of public funds, and large-scale diversion of project money," the memorandum said.

It also alleged that during the recent TTAADC election period, the council administration offered jobs for 120 Group-C and Group-D posts and carried out appointments hastily and in a secretive manner, without following transparent procedures.

According to the memorandum, such recruitment practices violate established norms and principles of natural justice, creating scope for corruption and alleged monetary exchanges in return for jobs.

BJP leader Rebati Tripura also claimed that the TTAADC administration failed to adhere to financial audit requirements during its tenure.

"They (TMP) have undermined financial discipline and engaged in widespread corruption across public services," he said, adding that the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had also alerted the state government for appropriate action.

The BJP leader also announced that the party's newly elected four TTAADC members would boycott Monday's swearing-in ceremony at the council headquarters in Khumulwng, nearly 20 km north of Agartala.

The Tribal Welfare Department of the Tripura government, in a notification, said that the state's Law Secretary, Sankari Das, will administer the oath or affirmation to the newly elected TTAADC members on Monday.

The TMP secured 24 out of 28 seats in the TTAADC elections, the results of which were declared on April 17. The BJP managed to win only four seats.

The BJP and its two tribal-based allies -- the TMP and the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) -- had contested the April 12 TTAADC polls separately after failing to reach an electoral understanding.

The 30-member TTAADC comprises 28 elected representatives and two members nominated by the state government, and it administers nearly 70 per cent of Tripura's 10,491 square km geographical area.

The tribal-based TMP secured 24 seats, six more than in the previous elections.

The BJP, however, saw a sharp decline, winning only four seats compared to the 10 it secured in the 2021 TTAADC polls.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front and the Congress, as in 2021, once again failed to open their accounts.

Political observers noted that with two consecutive victories in the TTAADC, the TMP has further consolidated its position in Tripura's political landscape.

Tribal communities account for nearly one-third of Tripura's 4.2 million population and remain a decisive factor in the state's politics.