GUWAHATI, Sept 6: The Opposition Congress in Assam has demanded a white paper from the government on the implementation of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) Accord, observing that “peace accords are signed with much fanfare by the BJP government at the Centre, but their actual implementation leaves a lot to be desired.”
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP, Pradyut Bordoloi however welcomed the peace initiatives of the government, including the tripartite peace accord signed with five Karbi Anglong insurgent groups in New Delhi on Saturday.
“We welcome the peace efforts by the government, including the recent tripartite pact with Karbi insurgent outfits, which will benefit the people of Assam. But it is also observed that the actual implementation of past peace accords leaves a lot to be desired,” Bordoloi said.
“The Assam PCC demands that a white paper be placed on the implementation of the BTR Accord. The total package was Rs 1500 crore with allocation of Rs 250 crore by state and Rs 250 crore by Centre every year for three years. Now how much has been received by the BTR as of now needs to be divulged,” he said.
“Similarly, a regular report on the implementation of the Karbi Anglong Accord should also be placed to keep the people of Assam updated on the actual implementation of the Accord,” the Congress leader said.
The insurgent groups, which signed the peace accord with the Centre and Assam government, include Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front, People’s Democratic Council of Karbi Longri, United People’s Liberation Army and Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers factions.
As a part of the peace accord, more than 1,000 armed cadres have abjured violence and joined the mainstream. The pact provides for their rehabilitation.
Bordoloi further pointed out that it was the Congress government in Assam that laid the foundation for peace talks with insurgent outfits, including the United Peoples’ Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) (which gave up arms in November 2011 and signed a tripartite memorandum of settlement with the Centre and Assam government).
“As a minister in the home department, I was given responsibility to discuss and take the peace talks forward in a bid to find a conflict resolution formula with the Bodo, Karbi, Dima Hasao insurgent groups at that time,” he said.