Ideological conflict among Bodoland People's Front leaders

A fresh ideological conflict among Bodoland People's Front (BPF) leaders over the BTR issue can be seen.
Ideological conflict among Bodoland People's Front leaders

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: A fresh ideological conflict among Bodoland People's Front (BPF) leaders over the BTR issue can be seen. This time, the war of words between Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary and former deputy chief of BTC and senior BPF leader, Kampa Borgoyari has raised many questions among the BPF workers and supporters.

On September 26, MP (Rajya Sabha) Biswajit Daimary hailed the move of the governments of India and Assam to implement BTR accord within a month. He thanked both the Centre, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and State Finance Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma for their bold steps to implement clauses of the BTR accord on which the Commission for inclusion and exclusion of villages was also set up, besides declaring to form Boro Kachari Welfare Autonomous Council (BKWAC) outside BTC districts and using Boro language as associate official language of Assam. He also called upon all to work together for the greater interest of development of people in the region.

Soon after getting Daimary's endorsement of the BTR accord, whose implementation the BPF is opposing, the general secretary of BPF, Probin Boro, in a press meet held in Kokrajhar, said that Daimary's statement was not on behalf of the party but a personal view. Boro also expressed doubt whether the alliance between BJP and BPF would continue in the 2021 assembly election.

Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary on Sunday admitted that his endorsement of BTR accord implementation was a personal view as stated by Probin Boro. He said that the BPF kept saying that there was nothing new in the BTR accord but as a positive development, the NDFB cadres had returned to the mainstream to hail the accord.

Daimary said that the Government of India had sent the draft agreement copy of BTR, prior to signing of the MoS, to former BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary and EMs for inclusion/rectification but they did not do it and were now blaming the signatories saying that they were kept in the dark regarding draft of the new accord. He said that the BTC chief and BPF president, Hagrama Mohilary and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had put their signatures in the MoS of BTR accord and this implied their support to the new accord. The Rajya Sabha MP thanked the governments of India and Assam for implementing clauses of the BTR accord.

Meanwhile, senior BPF leader and former deputy chief of BTC, Kampa Borgoyari on Monday countered the statement of Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary. He said the BTC did not receive any draft agreement on the BTR accord prior to its signing. He said that this claim made by Daimary was completely false.

On the renaming of BTC to BTR, Borgoyari said BTC was created after bringing bill and constitutional amendment in the Parliament but no bill or constitutional amendment had been made for creation of BTR and therefore, there should be bill for BTR and necessary amendment before changing its name. He, however, said the cabinet could decide the renaming of Calcutta to Kolkata, Bombay to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai but in case of BTC the case was different as it was created taking protected tribal lands under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution.

Borgoyari said the demand for setting up of separate directorate was raised by the Bodo Sahitya Sabha and All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) many years back while declaration of Boro as associate official language was made during the Hiteswar Saikia-led Congress government's rule but the present government was going to implement it.

On the other hand, BPF MLA Emmanuel Mashahary and former EM of BTC from BPF, Deben Boro joined the BJP while one of the members of the Policy Making Body (PMB) and vice-president of BPF, Hemendra Nath Brahma and former MCLA of BTC, Loben Basumatary joined the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL).

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