Stop politicization of BTC Assembly incident: All Bodo Students Union (ABSU)

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) on Tuesday called upon the Chief of BTC, Hagrama Mohilary, to stop politicizing the November 29 incident at BTC Assembly where irate students of Bodoland University and other colleges vandalized and damaged some properties of the Assembly. The student union clarified that the ABSU and Coordination Committee of Tribal Organizations, Assam (CCTOA), along with other tribal organizations, had been protesting the move of the Government of Assam before and after the GoM’s report on ‘ST status to six communities.’ 

 Talking to mediapersons at Bodofa House in Kokrajhar on Tuesday, ABSU President Dipen Boro said that the ABSU and CCTOA would continue to oppose the move of the Government of Assam to grant ST status to six communities of Assam, for the protection and safeguard of legitimate rights of the existing tribal communities. He said that a massive gathering of tribal communities at Sonapur in Guwahati on November 25 registered their strong protest against ST status to six communities. He said that spontaneous rallies of the students of different colleges and universities were continuing to oppose the move and that on November 29 also, the students of Bodoland University and different colleges took out a massive rally from the BU to BTC where the unfortunate vandalism took place at the BTC Assembly. He said that the ABSU never wanted vandalism nor encouraged the students to go for violence but that the BPF supremo had been trying to put the blame on ABSU. He made it clear that the political parties would go ahead with their agendas and that the students would stand against the anti-tribal move and therefore, the political parties must stop dragging the ABSU in the November 29 incident. 

Boro said that the government instead of blaming the ABSU for the November 29 incident should focus on resolving the issue amicably. He said, “Move of granting ST status to six communities is a ‘Laxman Rekha’ of a critical period for the tribal communities. The report of GoM suggests ‘Plain’ and ‘Valley’ categorization of tribals in BTC but KAAC and DHAC which are in Hills category are in pocket region and seems less affected because category ‘V’ could be impractical in a proper manner in these two isolated councils.” He called upon the Chief of BTC to clarify his stand on whether he wanted to keep the burning issue within the ‘Laxman Rekha’ or let it cross the line. He also said that the agitation of tribal communities had been continuing in every corner and that students in various colleges and of unit ABSU committees and other tribal student bodies of the University and colleges used their respective organizational flags in the rally and that there was nothing to blame them. He also said that there was a lack of security personnel at the BTC gate to prevent the agitating students from entering. He further called upon the Chief of BTC to stop politicizing the incident and work with a ‘community first,’ ‘politics next’ attitude.

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