Demanding the deletion of the names of Bru voters from the Mizoram electoral roll, opposition party Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) on Tuesday petitioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) saying that there are many Bru voters’ names in Mizoram electoral roll who have already settled in Tripura.
The ZPM is pointing to those Bru people, who had lived in Mizoram but left the state on their own accord in 1997 and now settled in Tripura.
According to Laldinpuia, who is the media secretary of ZPM, many Brus have returned to Mizoram during repatriations arranged by the government. However, there are also a large number of them who have decided not to return to the state, but settled in Tripura. “Though many Bru families have returned to Mizoram during the repatriation exercises, majority of the Bru people have refused to return making fallacious and misguided excuses, and are still settling in Tripura,” the ZPM petition stated.
It then said that in view of the special summary revision, which is currently underway in the state, names of the Bru voters should be deleted from the state’s electoral roll according to the January 16 agreement, which stated that the Bru people, who failed to return to Mizoram, would permanently settle in Tripura.
More than 35,000 Bru people from Mizoram, who were lodging at six relief camps in Tripura since 1997, have decided to permanently settle in Tripura.
According to the agreement signed among the Centre, the governments of Mizoram and Tripura and Bru organisations in New Delhi on January 16, 2020, those Bru families who failed to return to Mizoram on or before November 30, 2019 would be allowed to permanently settle in Tripura and those who have already returned to Mizoram during repatriation would not be allowed to go back to Tripura.
The agreement was signed by officials of Union Home Ministry, Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga, and leaders of various Bru organisations in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
NNN