Will not tolerate BTC boundary alteration, warns BPNL

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The All India Bodo People's National League (BPNL) on Sunday warned that it would not tolerate the government's move to dismantle the existing BTC boundaries and hate speech by senior BJP leaders to divide tribals and non-tribals in the region.

In a press meet, the general secretary of the BPNL, Jebra Ram Mashahary and chief convener DD Narzary said, "BTC is a sixth schedule territorial council created on February 10, 2003 to fulfill the economic, educational and linguistic aspirations and preservation of land rights, socio-cultural and ethnic identity of the Bodos and bonafide citizens and to speed up the infrastructure development in BTC in lieu of a full-fledged separate state of Bodoland. It was created after the signing of the BTC accord between the Government of India, Government of Assam and the BLT." They said that they had respect for this constitutionally-arranged council for self-rule which had been widely accepted by more than 35 lakh population of BTC. However, they would never tolerate the government's move to dismantle it by altering its boundaries by excluding villages from it in the name of implementing BTR agreement.

Mashahary said the BPNL had been observing that the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), in connivance with the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) had been stooping too low to take over the rule of BTC by hook or by crook, which was a deep-rooted political conspiracy to interfere and violate the constitutionally enshrined basic principles and ethics of a council's self rule, its spirit and practices and to dismantle it only to create divisions in the society in the line of tribal and non-tribal, religion, caste and community. They also alleged that the BJP leaders were conspiring to destabilize the peaceful coexistence among the Bodos and among the different communities who have been living together since time immemorial in the region.

"The BPNL is seriously concerned about few BJP leaders' ulterior motives and design to murder democracy in BTC," they asserted. The BPNL has resolved to support and work with the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) in the BTC election

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