‘Janajati Suraksha Mancha’ (JSM) , a tribal Hindutva and a RSS affiliated tribal organization, which has called a rally on Christmas Day (December 25) demanding delisting of tribals who have converted to Christianity from the Scheduled Caste (ST) list , has decide to postpone its rally in Agartala for a day and will organize their rally in the city on December 26 responding the request of Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha.

Addressing a press conference at Agartala press club on Thursday evening,  the joint convener of JSM, Kartik Tripura said that ‘Delisting rally’ and the meeting has been postponed for a day after Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha requested them and now the rally and meeting will be organized on December 26 at Agartala with the demand delisting tribals from their ST status, who were converted to Christianity.

All the opposition  parties  including Tipra-Motha,CPI(M) and Congress  has expressed grave concern over demand of delisting Christians from ST status raised by ‘Janajati Suraksha Mancha’ and claimed that a section of people were trying to create communal disharmony in Tripura over issues such as a demand to remove converted tribals from the Scheduled Tribes list. They also requested the Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha to cancel the permission of the rally to maintain the peace in the state.

The demand of delisting Christians from ST list is unconstitutional and fixation of the date of rally on particular day is communal and provocative and many non-Christians also celebrate the Christmas Day as ‘Bada Din’ every year on December 25 and so the said anti-Christian programme of the JSM will disrupt the festival which will be against tradition in the state, said opposition leaders including CPI(M) leader Jitendra Chaudhury, Tipra-Motha leader Animesh Debbarma and Pradesh Congress president Ashish Kumar Saha.