From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: The pro-talks faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland, NDFB (Progressive) has urged the Centre and Assam government to take “drastic action” against “provocateurs and communal forces spreading false and unsubstantiated publicity in a section of the media about a declaration of Union Territorial Council for Boroland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD)”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the militant outfit’s information and publicity secretary, S. Sanjarang also appealed to the people of all communities to identify the anti-social, reactionary and communal forces and keep strict vigilance on them for maintaining peace, unity and communal harmony among the people of the region.
“A turbulent situation is in the making in Assam owing to the unnecessary hue and cry raised as a reaction to the breaking of some false, baseless and unsubstantiated news in a section of the media by some reactionary and communal forces on the issue that the government of India after having discussion with the NDFB (P), All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and People’s Joint Action Committee for Boroland Movement (PJACBM) has decided to give Union Territory Council to the Boro people,” the outfit said.
NDFB was formed in 1986 with the main objective of a “sovereign Bodoland” and after 19 years of armed struggle, the NDFB (P) signed a ceasefire agreement in 2005 and participated in talks.
“The NDFB (P) has continued 27 rounds of discussion with the government of India but nothing of this sort has been decided so far. Instead of leaking the news to the media, the government of India would have first let the NDFB (P) and ABSU know if the former had so decided because these organisations are in the dialogue since a long time,” it said.
“Such baseless and provocative publicity has been deliberately made to hit the media headlines by some communal forces or government machinery either to create communal clashes or to sabotage the peace process or to divert the people’s attention from the resentment of the people of Assam as they are opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016,” the outfit said in the statement.
NDFB (P) also reiterated its stand that creation of Boroland state was its sole objective and “nothing short of it would be accepted.”
“The Boro people have been fighting for Boroland, a separate state for all the people living on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra. The region has faced deprivation, repression, discrimination and exploitation for the past 70 years of India’s Independence and due to utter negligence of the state government the region is lagging behind as far as infrastructure development and the backwardness of the area will continue as long as it continues to remain a part of Assam,” the outfit said in the statement.
It may be mentioned that in a statement on Saturday, Assam Police said that the interlocutor of peace talks, A.B. Mathur was contacted by Pallab Bhattacharya, director general civil defence and commandant general, home guards, and it was clearly expressed by Mathur that no such unilateral declaration of Union Territorial Council for BTAD has been made as pointed out in a section of the media.