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KOKRAJHAR: The Tribal Right Protection Association (TRPA) today charged that the 6th schedule BTC administration had been reduced to Panchayat administration without relevant constitutional amendments.
In a statement, President of TRPA Janaklal Basumatary said that the government of Assam was going to take over the BTC Legislative Assembly and preparation was almost complete to hold the Budget Session of Assam Government for Financial Year 2025-26 at the Bodoland Territorial Council Legislative Assembly Hall, Kokrajhar, the capital of BTC sixth schedule administration physically extended from the Assam Legislative Assembly Hall at Dispur, the capital of Assam.
He said that the proposed holding of Assam Budget Session at BTC Legislative Assembly hall makes it seem that it has extended the capital of Assam from Dispur to Kokrajhar, the capital of BTC. “Each government has its law making house in their own capital city/town. The Union Government has its law making house at its capital city in New Delhi known as Parliament House constituted under Article 79 of the Indian constitution, having 550 Lok Sabha member seats and 250 Rajya Sabha member seats. Now in new Parliament House, the numbers are increased to 888 Lok Sabha member seats and 384 Rajya Sabha member seats capacity”, he said adding that each state Government had their own Legislative Assembly House in their respective capital cities having different number of Assembly members according to the size of the state and its population constituted under article 168 of the constitution of India.
Basumatary said that the Assam Assembly had 126 member seats, Delhi Assembly of Delhi Union Territory has 60 member seats and similarly Bodoland Territorial Council Legislative Assembly is constituted for the Bodoland Territorial Council sixth schedule administration constituted under article 244 (2) of the Constitution of India. The Parliament sitting is held in the Parliament House and the Assembly sitting is held in respective State Assembly Houses and Union Territory administrations and assembly sitting is held in the Union Territory administration Assembly House and sixth schedule administration assembly sitting is held in the BTC Legislative Assembly House respectively, he said and added, “All are independent houses and one does not use the other’s house for sitting of their respective houses in any sitting.
He also said that there had normally been three sittings of every house in a year-summer session, winter session, and budget session and each one held independently in the federal system of Government in India but the Assam Government has violated the basic principle of the federal system of Government in India. He also said that the Assam Government had extended its 126-member Legislative Assembly House to Bodoland Territorial Council Legislative Assembly House without amendment of constitution and BTC sixth schedule Act, 2003. The 46-seated BTC sixth schedule assembly was converted into 126-seated Assam Legislative Assembly without constitutional amendment, he said adding that the proposal of holding Assam Budget Session at BTC Assembly hall means that there is no more legislative, executive, and administrative autonomy for BTC sixth schedule administration.
“This act of Assam Government reveals that they have taken over the Legislative Assembly of BTC sixth schedule administration to General Administration of Assam and reduced it to Panchayat administration under article 243 of the constitution without relevant constitutional amendment,” said Basumatary. He also said that the Government of Assam executed this act through a tribal Speaker of Assam Assembly Biswajit Dwimary who took the initiative for conversion of BTC Legislative Assembly to Assam Legislative Assembly to fulfil the wishes of the crafty CM of Assam. He further said that the BTC administration stood as mute spectator like orphan chicken and seems to be losing everything of Bodo tribal community whose protection and promotion, the BTC sixth schedule administration was meant for.
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