Various political parties and NGOs in Mizoram on Friday applauded the historic Bru agreement signed to put an end to the over two-decade-old Brus crisis.
They lauded the Centre and governments of Mizoram and Tripura for their initiatives.
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The Central Committee of the Young Mizo Association (CYMA)- the largest civil body in Mizoram expressed its happiness over the signing of the agreement on Thursday.
The agreement will permanently end the repatriation of the displaced Bru people and allowed them to permanently settle in Tripura.
A statement issued by the organization said that the Centre, as well as the state governments, have been making constant efforts to repatriate the Bru tribals from Tripura.
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It said that various NGOs in the state also welcomed the Bru tribals with open arms to return to Mizoram but without much success.
“It is a matter of joy that a pact, which would finally resolve the Brus imbroglio has been finally inked,” stated a CYMA statement on Friday.
“We are highly indebted to the union ministry of home affairs and the Mizoram government for their outstanding effort in signing the historic agreement,” the statement added.
“The best thing about the agreement is that the names of those Bru voters, who will permanently settle in Tripura, would be permanently deleted from Mizoram’s voter list,” the statement added.
The Mizo National Front (MNF) hailed the quadripartite agreement as “historic” and “milestone”.
The MNF also thanked the Centre, state governments and other stakeholders for their efforts towards finding an amicable solution to the Bru crisis.
The party also prayed that the agreement is materialized and put into practice.
Expressing happiness over the signing of the agreement, Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) said it had been making an earnest effort during its regime to repatriate the Bru people or allow them to permanently settle in Tripura.
The Congress in its statement said that the erstwhile Mizoram government headed by Lal Thanhawla had proposed that the Bru people, who are unwilling to return to Mizoram, be allowed to live permanently in Tripura.
“However, it could not be materialised as the then CPI (M) government in Tripura headed by Manik Sarkar rejected the proposal,” the Congress said in a statement.
The party thanked the Biplab Deb-led Tripura government for allowing over 30,000 Brus to permanently settle in Tripura.
State BJP also thanked union home minister Amit Shah for facilitating the signing of the historic agreement.
It alleged that both the Congress and Mizo National Front (MNF) governments could not resolve the Bru crisis for more than 20 years.
While welcoming the agreement, state’s apex student body, Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) attributed it to the efforts of the Centre, Mizoram government, NGOs in particular and the people of Mizoram in general.
The MZP and Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) asked the state government to take measure to ensure that the repatriated Bru families are treated well and benefited from numerous development schemes.
In a historic event, a quadripartite agreement was signed among the Centre, Mizoram and Tripura governments and Bru associations in New Delhi on Thursday.
According to the agreement signed in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of Mizoram and Tripura, those Bru families, who continue to live after November 30, 2019, will be permanently settled in Tripura.
The Centre also announced Rs 600 crore rehabilitation package to them.
More than 30,000 Bru people have been camping in six relief camps in North Tripura district since 1997 after they fled Mizoram due to ethnic tension triggered by the murder of a Mizo forest guard by Bru militants.