Over thousand supporters of the Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad, a tribal wing of the Opposition CPM, took out a rally here on Saturday to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The rally started from Rabindra Shatabarshiki Bhawan and ended at Swami Vivekananda Maidan.

It was organised over an 18-point charter of demands, including the demand to scrap the Act, provide more power to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) and inclusion of the state’s lingua franca, Kokborok, in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Speakers at the rally appealed to all tribal and non-tribal people to protest against the Act.

Addressing the gathering, Parishad president and former Lok Sabha MP Jitendra Chaudhury said, “The rate of farmers’ suicide is increasing. They are losing their farms and becoming labourers. The Scheduled Castes and minority people are losing their rights but the Centre is silent. They are not implementing any schemes for them. The BJP had promised several things before coming to power but nothing has happened so far.”

He blamed the Centre for not launching any policy for the poor, the farmers and the unemployed.

“They are destroying the dreams of the people in the country but their heart cries for minorities in neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. No one will accept the Act as it is unconstitutional,” he added.

Chaudhury termed the CAA “communal” and said the BJP “destroyed the Constitution by implementing the destructive Act”.

“Not only students but women and children are also protesting against the Act. Parliaments in various countries and NRIs are protesting against the Act too,” he added.

Pradyot rally: Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Manikya Deb Burman’s newly floated organisation, the Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance, on Saturday launched an anti-CAA protest at Khumulwng, the headquarters the TTAADC. Volunteers on motorcycles will travel across the state to sensitise people, especially tribals, about the Act’s “harmful effects”. “We are not against any community or religion. We want to preserve our identity and culture. We will travel across the state for 18 days and spread awareness about the Act. This is a revolution by the youth,” said Deb Burman.