Tipra Motha filed a writ petition in Tripura High Court for holding the long pending TTAADC village committees poll at the earliest and the court has asked the state government to inform the status of it.
The writ petition was filed in the HC by Tipra Motha spokesperson Anthony Debbarma and party MLA Brishaketu Debbarma on Wednesday and it was heard the same day.
The division bench headed by Chief Justice T Amartha Goud sought a reply from the state advocate general, who represented the state as well as the State Election Commission (SEC). The advocate general assured the bench that he would submit the report any day after April 13.
The election to 587 village committees in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District was due on March 7, 2021, but it is yet to be held.
Tipra Motha, the party which is the second largest in the House, had filed a writ petition in the HC on the issue earlier too and the court had directed the government to take steps for conducting the poll by March this year.
“We filed a fresh writ petition before the High Court on Wednesday seeking early election to the village committees and the court heard our submission the same day," Anthony Debbarma said. Alleging that the state government appeared to be reluctant to hold the election in the past two years, Brishaketu Debbarma said polls to Tripura Assembly, civic bodies and urban bodies, however, took place during the period. Due to the absence of elected bodies, development works have virtually halted in the village committees.
The committees have tribal-dominated areas under them, he added. Tipra Motha has 18 members in the 30-seat autonomous council, and the ruling BJP is in the opposition. The regional party bagged 13 of the 20 seats reserved for scheduled tribes in the state Assembly. BJP bagged six and its ally IPFT only one seat in the February Assembly election.