TEZPUR, Dec 24 - In protest against the BJP-led government�s alleged failure to fulfill the long pending demand for a Bodoland state, the All Bodo Students� Union (ABSU) and two other associate organisations � NDFB (P) and People�s Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement (PJACBM) � today held a two-hour dharna at Nehru Maidan here.
Addressing a gathering of over 10,000 people from various parts of Sonitpur, just a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s visit to the State, ABSU supremo Pramod Boro said the BJP�s commitment to fulfill the Bodoland demand mentioned in the party�s election manifesto was yet to materialise. �If the government does not listen to us, we will also not listen to anybody. Though we cannot do anything for any party to form a government, we can at least destabilise them,� Boro said.
He said the Bodo community was assured that its problems would be solved through discussion in Parliament, but there were only three months left for the BJP government at the Centre. �There was a series of discussions between the Union Home Minister and our organisations, but no solution has come out, which is very unfortunate.�
NDFB (P) president Gobindo Basumatary said they had 15 rounds of tripartite talks and 27 rounds of talks with the interlocutor in the last 12 years of the peace process but there was no development.
UDALGURI: The ABSU reiterated its demand for a separate Bodoland, saying that creation of a separate state was the only solution for permanent peace and prosperity along the northern bank of the Brahmaputra river.
Taking part in a three-hour dharna at the Udalguri Deputy Commissioner�s Office field, ABSU president Pramod Boro said that the ABSU cannot make its candidate win the elections, but it has the capacity to make any candidate lose in the polls.
He said that the issue of a separate state has been lingering in the government�s hands for a long time, and whichever party is voted to power delays this demand and starts assurances only during election time.
Boro slammed Kokrajhar MP Naba Sarania for his continued protest against the Bodoland issue in New Delhi.
KOKRAJHAR: The ABSU and its allied organisations today staged a three-hour sit-in demonstration at the UNB Children�s Park in Kokrajhar town demanding immediate statehood for Bodoland.
A large number of members of ABSU, NDFB(P), PJACBM and people from the Bodo community took part in the programme. Former Rajya Sabha MP and president of UPPL UG Brahma, ABSU general secretary Lorence Islary and PJACBM chief convener Rakesh Boro among others also took part.
The leaders demanded fulfilment of the BJP�s commitment during the last Lok Sabha election and ensuring political rights and ST (Hills) status to Bodos living outside the proposed Bodoland area, including in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. The Bodos have been deprived of their economic and political rights, they alleged.
BONGAIGAON: Bodo groups today welcomed Prime Minister Modi � who would visit the State on Tuesday � and reminded him about his promise made during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on the Bodoland issue.
Activists of ABSU, NDFB(P) and PJACBM staged a three-hour sit-in demonstration at the Chirang district headquarters Kajalgaon, and later sent a memorandum to Modi through the district administration. In the memorandum, the Bodo groups demanded political rights and ST (Hills) status to Bodo people living outside the Bodoland area. ABSU leaders � including Phanin Boro, Jayanta Basumatary and Khanin Basumatary � called on the Parliamentarians to raise the Bodoland issue during the winter session of Parliament.
�Only a few months are left for the tenure of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to end, so we want to make our last appeal to the Modi government to solve the Bodoland issue. Otherwise we will be forced to go for a hunger strike for an indefinite period in the new year,� ABSU president Pramod Boro said.