BJP will revoke 6th schedule status of BTC if it comes to power: Gobinda Basumatary

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: As anger and reactions over State BJP President and MP Dilip Saikia’s remarks on tribal land laws spreads like a wildfire, the Deputy Chief of BTC and MLA Gobinda Chandra Basumatary on Tuesday expressed fear that the 6th schedule status of BTC would be revoked if BJP came to power in the council.

Talking to reporters on the sideline of UPPL’s 10th foundation day at Dotma in Kokrajhar district on Tuesday, Basumatary said that the remarks of Saikia were misleading and a matter of concern. He said that the tribal belts and block and 6th schedule status were Constitutional provisions to protect the tribal people to survive in their lands and that it was not a joke to offer equal land rights to all citizens in 6th schedule areas for political purposes that could bring misunderstandings among different communities.

He said that the BJP had been trying to take over the power of BTC after Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong Autonomous Councils, applying ill-intent. He also said that the 6th schedule BTC administration would be made a general council by revoking the 6th schedule status if BJP came to power in BTC and that after that the BJP-led council government would move to eliminate the existing laws of tribal belt and blocks. He further said that there could be a chaotic situation between the tribal and non-tribal people over land in future if BJP changed the existing status of tribal land laws in BTC.

Meanwhile, the General Secretary of the UPPL, Raju Kumar Narzary, while talking to mediapersons at Dotma, said that the chapter-X of Assam Land and Revenue Regulation Act and 6th schedule status were granted to BTC for the constitutional safeguard of the most backward, neglected, and marginalized tribal people and that being an elected MP and State President of the BJP, Dilip Saikia’s remarks reflected his immaturity. He also said that the BJP was going to bring back communal violence and killings in BTC by sowing the seed of misunderstanding and hatred with the sensitive land issue.

Without taking the name of Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Narzary said that there had been no categorization of 1st and 2nd class citizens in the Indian Constitution and that every citizen had equal rights. He said that the people of BTR had been living peacefully since UPPL took over the BTC administration and that all communities were enjoying equal status. He also said that if a responsible state ruler thinks of ‘Bodos’ as 1st citizens in BTC then he must remember that the Bodos were a marginalized tribe who had been neglected over the years. He appealed to the ‘responsible ruler’ and elected representatives to be cautious while making remarks that could trigger unnecessary chaos, hatred, and misunderstanding which was likely to lead to communal violence in peaceful BTR. He questioned why the BJP leaders traditionally offered equal land rights in every election in BTC and later kept mum. He called upon the people to remain conscious over election-centric political remarks.

Also Read: BTC Deputy CEM Gobinda Chandra Basumatary, calls for entrepreneur training for self-sufficiency in BTR

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