AGARTALA, May 30 (TIWN): The decision of the Left front govt. to repeal the Armed Force Special Power Act (AFSPA) has come after the conclusion of the elections to the tribal council. However, welcoming the decision of the Left front govt. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said, “Everyone have congratulated Chief Minister Manik Sarkar for deciding to repeal AFSPA but the credit should go to Union Home Ministers of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.Talking to the newsmen at party office on Friday BJP State President Sudhindra Dasgupta said, “Due to high contribution of Rijiju and Modiji the insurgency has come to a halt here in Tripura.” Rijiju had a talk with the insurgency activists and asked them to shun violence and return to their normal life following which the militant outbreak has declined here in Tripura, said Dasgupta. He said that several political parties has demanded the state Left front govt. here to impose the act to contain the insurgency activities following which the govt. has acted on behest of containing insurgencies. “Killing of people was rampant here in Tripura under the Left regime and it has turned worst alongwith the passage of the days,” Dasgupta said on Friday. Adding to that he also said, “During the year 2000 I met with Atalbihari ji and L K Advani ji took up the issue of rampant the insurgency violence in Tripura.

He said CM was not supposed to take the credit of waning  insurgency here rather the credit must go to Modi ji and Rijiju ji.

However but later Das Gupta urged the state govt. to keep strict eye if the banned militant outfits still raise their head. Das Gupta also said, “The insurgency has come to wane here also because of actively played by the security forces.”

He said the act was first enforced in Tripura on 16 February, 1997 when terrorism was at its peak in the state, which shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh.

The repeal of the Act, which has been in force in the State since February 1997, came less than a month after the election to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. The CPI-M led Left Front won the election, though it lost a nine per cent vote share to a tribal party.

Sarkar announcing the decision to the reporters here at the civil secretariat on May 27 said the State government had reviewed security matters and the Council of Ministers approved the decision to withdraw the AFSPA. The meeting decided to allow movement of traffic on the Assam-Agartala National Highway till midnight.

Tribal parties such as the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura and the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura had been demanding the withdrawal of the Act, saying it was aimed at suppressing the State’s 33 per cent tribal population.