Agartala, Oct. 17: The simmering tension within the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) over the issue of leadership has come to the fore with the vice-chairman of the party’s advisory council, Harinath Debbarma, raising the banner of revolt against party president Bijay Hrangkhawl.

Harinath Debbarma had broken away from the erstwhile Tripura Upajati Juba Samity to float the short-lived Tripura Tribal National Council (TTNC) in 1995.

He later became president of the now-defunct Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura but was totally marginalised after the TUJS and IPFT merged to form the INPT.

Though rehabilitated as vice-chairman of the advisory council of the new party, Harinath Debbarma could tolerate this “demotion” and always opposed Hrangkhawl, who became the president of the new party.

In the first sign of revolt, Harinath Debbarma issued a 15-point questionnaire to Hrangkhawl over his controversial speech at Geneva in the third week of July during the international convention of the Working Group of Indigenous Populations. He also criticised his rival for subsequently withdrawing the speech.

The questionnaire, copies of which were released to the press, asked if Hrangkhawl’s speech at Geneva had been approved in advance by the INPT’s central committee and whether it was his personal views or consistent with the political stand of the INPT.

Harinath Debbarma, known for his firm and uncompromising views on ethnic issues, also asked Hrangkhawl why he had tendered an apology to the Bengali community for his speech and whether it had sullied the image of INPT as a party.

Criticising Hrangkhawl with his loaded questions, Harinath wondered how the former could say that senior party leader Shyamacharan Tripura had drafted the speech delivered at Geneva.

Reacting to Harinath’s questionnaire, INPT general secretary Rabindra Debbarma said he had not seen the original questionnaire and hence could not formally say anything.

He, however, added that Harinath Debbarma should have discussed the issue within the party forum before going to the media.

Sources in the INPT said the issue raised by Harinath Debbarma had the support of a large section of the new party that was opposed to Bijay Hrangkhawl as president.

After being marginalised in the party hierarchy of the INPT, reportedly following the intervention of “invisible allies” — militants of the National Liberation Front of Tripura — Harinath and other leaders who had expected to be honourably rehabilitated were planning to reopen the issue of the party presidentship.

Sources said Harinath Debbarma had echoed the sentiments of a large section of the party and has already contacted the Nationalist Congress Party for forging an alliance as a prelude to quitting the INPT and floating a new party.