Interest of tribal people compromised in BTC: Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Mancha

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: In a scathing attack on the present status of BTR, the president of the Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Mancha (BJSM) Janakla Basumatary alleged that the interest of Bodo and other tribal people were being compromised in BTC by BJP-led coalition government as the 6th schedule administration is being generalized in a systematic way.

In a statement, the president of the BJSM Basumatary said the government of India and government of Assam in their concerted efforts to fulfil the political, economic, social, cultural and identity-related aspirations of the Bodo people, Bodo agreements were signed in 1993 and 2003 leading to the creation of Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) and Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) under the sixth schedule to the Constitution of India for Bodo inhabited areas in Assam.

He said the granting of the tribal self-rule in the sixth schedule of the Constitution for the Bodo tribal people was definitely in the public interest and it is not in the interest of any individual or organization. Further, the government of India and Assam negotiated with the ABSU and its associated organizations as well as various factions of NDFB on their demand for separate statehood but created BTR and this accord was termed as the comprehensive and final solution to the Bodo statehood demands keeping intact the territorial integrity of the State but the rejection of Bodo demand is not in the interest of Bodo people and hence this is not in the interest of public so far as Bodo people are concerned, he said.

He further said, "The government of India and Government of Assam agreed on the MoS with Bodo group to augment area and powers of BTC and streamline its functioning but in Para 3(1)(ii) they reduced the notified area of BTC by the exclusion of non tribal majority villages which means exclusion of minority Bodo tribal villages along with this majority non tribal villages. This is detrimental to Bodo people for whose benefit the BTC self rule sixth schedule was granted, so the public interest for Bodo people is adversely affected."

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