OUR CORRESPONDENT
TINSUKIA: The Tirap Autonomous District Council Demand Committee (TADCDC), in its emergent steering committee meeting held at Bisa gaon in Margherita subdivision on Sunday with Mungdang Gam Singpho in the chair, heartily welcomed the statement of Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the formation of Tirap Autonomous District Council.
Terming it as a historical achievement, Bisa Mungdang Gam Singpho, the Prince of Singpho royal family and also president of TADCDC, said in a statement that every political party had deceived the rights and privileges of ethnic communities like Singpho, Tansa, Khamti and Sema Naga, which were duly guaranteed in the Indian Constitution under Article 244(2). The political parties discriminated against them socially, economically, culturally and politically since proclamation of Tirap Tribal Belt by government notification in March 13, 1951, he alleged. This also amounted to gross violation of human rights to marginalized small ethnic communities, the statement said.
Though the TADCDC has welcomed the government's initiative, it also warned the government that if the commitments were not fulfilled by whichever political party forms the government, they would resort to vigorous democratic agitation in future, the statement added.