All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilanis (AAKRS) demand Satellite Council
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Welcoming Assam cabinet’s move for constituting Kamatapur Autonomous Council (KAC), the All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani (AAKRS) demands for a satellite autonomous council so as to ensure the security of all the 70 lakh Koch Rajbongshi people spread in different parts of the state.
Addressing a press conference at Guwahati Press Club on Tuesday AAKRS appealed the government to declare the proposed KAC as a satellite autonomous council. AAKRS said that their first demand will always be ST status for Koch Rajbongshi people.
“We welcome cabinet’s decision, but we’ve a doubt as the cabinet had declared autonomous council without providing ST status. Hence the cabinet’s condition has failed to comfort us regarding the all round development of all the Koch Rajbongshi people. Our prior demand will always be ST status and we’ll not rest till we get it.” said AAKRS general secretary Ranjit Kumar Roy.
AAKRS president in charge Dilip Bora said, “We didn’t ask for autonomous council. Our main demand is ST status, because we think giving ST status will allow development to 70 lakh Koch Rajbongshi people. We’re giving the time frame of three months to grant us ST status or else they must get ready to face the answer in 2021. We’ve fighting for ST status since last 52 years and we’ll continue till our demand is fulfilled. They have decided to provide autonomous council without coming into any discussion with us. We welcome this decision. However, we demand the government to provide equal rights to all the Koch Rajbongshis of Assam. Hence our demand is a satellite autonomous council.”
Demanding to ensure the right to vote of the Koch Rajbongshi people in the autonomous council AAKRS working president Pranab Narayan Dev said, “We want the indigenous people’s right to vote to be ensured in autonomous councils. Because, excluding BTAD and Rabha Hasong the rest of the part of Goalpara district is filled with minority people. So, we’ve fear that the proposed KAC may turn into an autonomous council dependent upon the votes of illegal immigrants. Hence we want the government to ensure indigenous people’s right to vote. Besides this we want a clarification from the government regarding the reformation of our development Council.”
“We welcome the autonomous council and also the reformation of development council. But we also want assurance regarding the security of all 70 lakh Koch Rajbongshi people including the land and political rights, as we all are aware of the situation that Koch Rajbongshi people are facing in BTAD areas. The leadership of AAKRS stated that Autonomous council is the alternative of ST status. They also appealed the government to grant fund on the basis of population.