The National Federation of New States (NFNS) said here on Thursday that bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories had encouraged them for separate state demand. The NFNS is spear-heading the movement for creation of small states. The leaders of NFNS said they are going to hold a rally at Khumulwng, 25 km north of Agartala, on Friday in support of the statehood demand. The Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) is an NFNS constituent in Tripura. The IPFT has been agitating since 2009 for creation of a separate state by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which has jurisdiction over two-thirds of Tripuras 10,491 sq km area, home to over 12, 16,000 people. IPFT spokesman Mangal Debbarma said Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma and NFNS general secretary Manish Tamang would address the rally at the TTAADC headquarters at Khumulwng. “The central governments recent decision to bifurcate J&K into two UTs has encouraged the NFNS member parties to intensify the movement for separate states,” said Debbarma. Fridays rally had assumed great significance in view of the J&Ks bifurcation, he added. The central government on August 5 abrogated the Article 370 of the Constitution revoking special status for J&K and bifurcated the state into two UTs. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to our request for a meeting with the IPFT delegation on our statehood demand on Thursday in New Delhi. “We have requested the PMO to give us a fresh date as we are busy with the Fridayas rally,” Debbarma said.

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