After presiding over the 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) in Tripura on Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Bru (Riang) slum camp in Dhalai district on Sunday and address a public meeting. Before leaving the state, Shah is also scheduled to address the National Cooperative Conference at Rabindra Satvarshiki Bhavan.
This will be the first time that the Home Minister, who played a key role in resolving the 23-year-old refugee crisis after the historic Bru Basti Agreement in July 2018, will visit the camp to assess the ground reality.
In 1997, 37,000 Bru migrants fled ethnic conflict in Mizoram and took shelter in six relief camps in North Tripura district. About 5,000 returned in nine phases of repatriation, but almost the same number fled to Tripura in 2009 after fresh clashes.
After more than two decades of this protracted displacement, which has become the largest internal displacement in the Northeast, an agreement was signed in 2020 to permanently resettle Bruce. This comes two years after the migrants rejected the repatriation deal in Mizoram, citing a lack of proper consultation with them.
Last month, a large number of Bru residents blocked the national highway at Haduklau in Ambasa, Dhalai, demanding the formation of a new village committee and allotment of agricultural land to 13 Bru resettlement areas. Although the movement was withdrawn after some time, the resettlement emphasized the demand of allocating agricultural land for the residents.
Week-long protest by Congress saying that Shah had insulted Ambedkar
Later Dr. BR Ambedkar became the subject Protests by the opposition During the winter session of Parliament, the Congress is set to stage a protest demanding the resignation of Amit Shah for allegedly “insulting” Ambedkar while speaking in Parliament. The old party will observe a week-long campaign on the issue starting Sunday as part of its “Ambedkar Samman Week”.
Opposition MPs carry portraits of Dr BR Ambedkar during protests demanding Amit Shah’s resignation. (file photo)
The party’s general secretary (organization) KC Venugopal said that the party’s MPs and leaders will hold a press conference at 150 locations across the country on January 22 and 23, and workers will hold a protest rally on January 24.
Our movement will continue demanding the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah! We will fight against Manusmriti worshipers to protect Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy,” Venugopal wrote on social media.
The week-long campaign coincides with the Congress Working Committee meeting on December 26 to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Indian National Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.
State funeral of OP Chautala
On Friday, the Haryana government announced three days of state-wide mourning following the demise of former chief minister OP Chautala, who had held the post for five terms. Chautala, the former president of the Indian National Lok Dal, who died in Gurugram on Friday, will be given a state funeral at Tezakhera Farm in Sirsa district, the birthplace of the Chautala family, on Sunday.
– With PTI input
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