Agartala, July 4: Bijay Kumar Hrangkhawl, president of the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), will attend the four-day convention of the Working Group of Indigenous Population (WGIP) in Geneva from July 21.

Hrangkhawl, who triggered a major controversy by attending the Geneva meet in July last year, will be accompanied by veteran tribal leader and the party’s advisory committee chief Shyamacharan Tripura.

The INPT leader’s visit to Geneva has sparked a mixed reaction in political circles here.

The Congress refused to comment, while sources in the ruling CPM said there was no harm in attending an international convention but nobody should speak against national interest.

Last year, Hrangkhawl kicked up a storm by claiming that the erstwhile princely state’s merger with India in October 1949 was a “conspiracy of the Bengali ministers of the last king, Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya”.

Besides, the INPT leader had directly spoken in favour of the banned militant outfits, describing their regular killings as “struggle for self-determination”.

Police had filed an FIR against Hrangkhawl on charges of sedition after transcripts of his Geneva speech appeared in the media. The controversy also dominated the Assembly elections.

However, the INPT’s central working committee yesterday cleared the two leaders’ trip to the convention following a formal invitation from the Geneva-based organisation to discuss the human rights profile of the indigenous tribal communities in Tripura.

The party’s general secretary, Rabindra Debbarma, said the committee has approved the contents of the speech to be delivered by Hrangkhawl and Tripura in Geneva.

“Our party leaders will basically highlight the suffering and oppression, including incidents of assaults on human rights, of the indigenous tribals,” Debbarma said.

The INPT central working committee also discussed the poor shape of the autonomous district council because of the “economic blockade” of the state government. A delegation would visit New Delhi soon and meet deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani to press for increasing the power of the autonomous council.

Diphu killing: One person was killed and another injured when suspected militants of the United Democratic Peoples Solidarity (UPDS) opened fire at a petrol station in Diphu today. The rebels also exploded two hand grenades. The owner, Bhubon Mondal, was killed in the firing while the manager, Manoj Jain, was seriously injured.