INPT blocks highway, railway tracks in protest against proposed legislation

AGARTALA: Traffic along the National Highway-8, connecting the state to the rest of the country, came to a standstill on Monday as the opposition tribal-based Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) staged a blockade in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
"Thousands of our supporters have been joining our agitation since Sunday night," INPT president BK Hrangkhwal said."Unless the administration provokes us, we are committed to going about this peacefully," he added.
The highway blockade was staged at Khamtingbari, Hezamara and Ambassa. Later, about 2,500 protesters courted arrested in several areas across the Baramura and Atharamura hill ranges in Khowai and Dhalai districts. Train services were disrupted - the Dharmanagar-Agartala and Silchar-Agartala trains were cancelled, besides local trains.
Assistant inspector General Smriti Ranjan Das said a large contingent of Tripura Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel were deployed before the strike commenced at 6 am in Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) areas of West Tripura district. At 2pm, 450 picketers from INPT were arrested by Tripura Police. "There were no reports of violence but 450 picketers were arrested after the party withdrew the agitation," West Tripura SP Ajit Pratap Singh said.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 proposes Indian citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. "If this bill is passed, illegal immigrants will get citizenship. It poses grave threat to the northeastern states ... As a border state, we face the brunt of influx and will be the worst affected if it is passed," Hrangkhwal said. "It's not just INPT. Several organizations in Tripura and outside have extended their support to the movement. INPT is committed to ensure the rights of the indigenous population, who have been subjugated over the years, are protected," Hrangkhwal added.
"It is not about tribal and non-tribal, the bill will affect the genuine citizens of the country," he further said.
The INPT has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a National Register of Citizens for Tripura, like the one being updated in Assam.
In October, INPT leaders had called on the members of an inter-ministerial high-power committee, formed by the Union Home Ministry to study socio-cultural, linguistic and economic problems of tribes living in the state, and demanded introduction of Inner Line Permit system in the state.
"The bill is likely to be placed on the floor of Parliament tomorrow (Tuesday)," Hrangkhwal said.