Agartala, Aug 16 — The Tripura government’s decision to withdraw the mandatory requirement of a Permanent Resident of Tripura Certificate (PRTC) for recruitment to state government jobs has triggered widespread controversy, with opposition parties and several tribal-based organisations demanding that the decision be rolled back.

Tripura Tourism and Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury said that the PRTC would no longer be mandatory for candidates applying for Tripura government jobs. Instead, job aspirants would be required to prove that they have studied for five consecutive years in any school in the state, he said.

Chowdhury, who is also the state government spokesman, said the decision was taken by the state cabinet following a case filed by a Delhi resident in the Tripura High Court and the court’s directives for reconsideration of the issue relating to the mandatory requirement of PRTC.

Opposition parties, including the CPI(M) and Congress, as well as several tribal-based organisations, strongly opposed the government’s decision and demanded immediate withdrawal of the new provision.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jitendra Chaudhury, who is also the state secretary of the CPI(M), said that withdrawal of the PRTC requirement for Tripura government jobs would open the door for job aspirants from other states, particularly BJP-ruled West Bengal, Assam and Bihar.

“The previous Left Front government had introduced the PRTC to protect the interests of job seekers of Tripura. But after the BJP government came to power in Tripura in 2018, it unofficially relaxed the mandatory provisions of the PRTC and provided government jobs to people from West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and other states,” said Chaudhury, a former minister and Lok Sabha member.

The Left leader said the BJP government had already reduced the scope of government employment opportunities and that the latest decision on the PRTC would further jeopardise the interests of unemployed youths of Tripura.

Congress leader and advocate Rakhu Das criticised the BJP government over the PRTC issue and said that the latest decision would facilitate corruption and enable people from other states to secure Tripura government jobs by allegedly managing school certificates.

“To protect the interests of indigenous people, Assam has already introduced the National Register of Citizens (NRC), while many Northeastern states have the Inner Line Permit system. But the Tripura government is moving in the opposite direction and harming the interests of local people,” said Das, a former president of the Tripura Pradesh Youth Congress.

Another Congress leader referred to a decision taken by the BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh last week, under which a candidate seeking a government job in the state must be an Indian citizen and an inhabitant of Arunachal Pradesh possessing a valid Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC) issued by the designated competent authority.

“The candidate must also be an original inhabitant of Arunachal Pradesh and possess an Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) Certificate, as per the list of tribes notified by the Government of India under the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, as amended from time to time. The candidate must additionally be able to speak any of the Indigenous Tribal Languages of Arunachal Pradesh as per the notified list,” the Congress leader said, quoting the Arunachal Pradesh government decision.

In Assam, job aspirants are required to submit a domicile certificate establishing their three generations of residence while applying for government jobs, the Congress leader said.

The contrasting provisions in neighbouring Northeastern states were cited by the opposition leaders to argue that Tripura should also retain safeguards to protect employment opportunities for local youths.

The Tripura Tribal Employees Association, Twipra Students’ Federation and several other organisations have also demanded withdrawal of the state government’s decision to remove the mandatory PRTC requirement for government jobs.

The organisations said the existing provision was intended to safeguard the interests of local job seekers and expressed apprehension that its (PRTC) withdrawal could increase competition from candidates from outside the state.

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