GUWAHATI: Bodo organisations spearheading the separate statehood movement have threatened to intensify its agitation if the Centre does not pay heed to its request for tripartite talks for a permanent solution to the Bodoland demand issue.
A mass gathering in this regard was organised by All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), People’s Joint Action Committee for Boroland Movement (PJACBM) and progressive faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB-P), at Khargaon in Kokrajhar on Monday as a mark of solidarity towards the longstanding demand.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on Tuesday, PJACBM central committee convener, Erakdao Brahma said, “While we welcome the ongoing interlocutor-level talks, we want the Centre to hold tripartite talks (including the pressure groups) under Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution of India for an early and fruitful solution to the longstanding issue.”
Brahma further advocated the need to hold discussions on ascertaining the boundaries of the separate state at the earliest and “not just come out with an agreement for the sake of it.”
Asked whether the groups have served any deadline to the Centre for the tripartite talks, he said, “As of now, we have not fixed any deadline even as there was a decision during a meeting here recently that the talks would be held soon. However, if there is no sincerity in taking the discussions forward, we will be compelled to intensify our agitation in a democratic manner.”
During the mass gathering in Kokrajhar on Monday, leaders of the Bodo organisations criticised the BJP-led NDA government for the inordinate delay in solving the statehood issue, reminding the central leaders that Bodoland statehood was one of the electrical promises of BJP during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The joint movement of the groups have over the years demanded a national policy for settlement of the Bodoland issue, to expedite the dialogue at the political level, ensure political rights of people from the community living outside the proposed Bodoland area and to grant Scheduled Tribe (Hills) status to the Bodos living in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao areas of Assam.
