BONGAIGAON, Jan 18 - Three Bodo organisations have called upon the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to come up with a clear-cut decision on the creation of Bodoland and other issues of the community during his visit to Kokrajhar on Tuesday.
Leaders of All Bodo Students� Union (ABSU), Peoples� Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement (PJACBM) and NDFB (Progressive) said that Modi�s announcement of economic package for the BTC is nothing but a sop to Bodo voters in the BTAD.
At a press conference at Bodo House here, the leaders of the organisations said that they backed the BJP in last Lok Sabha polls believing its commitment on Bodo issues, but as days passed on, the Union Government headed by Modi had lost the interest on addressing the issues.
Pramod Boro, president of the ABSU, referring to Modi, said, �People in (proposed) Bodoland were eagerly awaiting your prudent decision on Bodoland issue for which over seven thousand patriots had sacrificed their lives, thousands of innocent people were tortured, imprisoned, harassed and many Bodo women were raped in past 48 years.�
�The present National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by Modi neither neither has the guts nor any policy to solve the issue of Bodoland,� alleged B Swmkhwr, general secretary of NDFB(P).
After signing the ceasefire pact on May 1 in 2005, NDFB (P) had 40 rounds of talks with the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. But the Modi Government had arranged only a single round of talks with the militant group in June last year for the sake of formality, rued Swmkhwr.
�Since the BJP has betrayed us, so we have decided not to support the party in ensuing Assembly polls,� he said.
Na khaunga na khane dunga (neither will I take bribe, nor will I allow anyone to take bribe) � the dictum often used by Modi would carry no value if he forges an alliance with Hagrama Mohilary, the chief of Bodoland Territorial Council, in the Assembly polls, said Promod Boro, �as Hagrama has embezzled a huge amount of Central package (Rs 750 crore) which was granted for development of the BTAD area,� he alleged.
Hagrama has no moral right to seek an economic package from the Government, Boro added.
He also appealed to Modi to specify the schemes on which he is going to announce �economic package for the BTC� during his Kokrajhar visit.
�Modi ji! please spell out what is your final decision on Bodoland,� Jebra Ram Muchahary, chief convenor of the PJACBM said. As the BJP is not serious on the Bodoland issue, hence the peace �dialogue� of the Government with NDFB(P) and other militant groups of the North East region has become a �deadlock�, said Muchahary.
�The political parties which do not take up our issues seriously, we will definitely not support them in the coming Assembly polls in 51 seats, where we can play a major role,� Muchahary added.
