KOKRAJHAR, March 6 - In view of the ongoing controversy over the land rights of both tribals and non-tribals, living in the BTAD area, the United People�s Party Liberal (UPPL) today appealed to all sections of the people to have confidence in the Constitution and the law of the land.
In a press statement issued today, the UPPL president and former Rajya Sabha MP UG Brahma also appealed to the BJP-BPF alliance government to uphold the constitutional law of the VIth Schedule area as enshrined in the Constitution.
�The BTC Act under the VIth Schedule of the Constitution of India doesn�t curtail rights and its related laws of both the non-tribal and tribal communnities under any circumstances and their respective rights should be ensured according to the law. At the same time, the Act also on the basis of general principles of a VIth Schedule area, provides power to safeguard the lands owned by the tribal people from any kind of alienation and transfer of land to non-tribals but without affecting the rights and privileges enjoyed by the latter. It is the joint responsibility of the State Government of Assam and the BTC administration to ensure that rights follow the law of the land. Because the BTAD is not a separate State and is very much a part of Assam, so its administration is also not out of that�, Brahma said in the statement.
In the statement, Brahma also alleged that various divisive forces were active to create communal tension for their narrow political interests and the present Assam Government as well as the BTC authority, had both failed to defuse the tension.
The UPPL also criticized Kokrajhar Lok Sabha MP Naba Kr Saraniya�s role saying that instead of playing the role of a troubleshooter, he is stoking trouble and fuelling communal tension for his narrow political ends. His role, as a public representative, should have been that of a peace maker, since he is bound by the Constitution and the law to treat all sections of the people equally. But his present behaviour is totally adversarial to public peace and he is deliberately violating the constitutional and legal guidelines for the legislators which is a serious moral offence,� Brahma said.
The UPPL also urged the State Government and the BTC administration to engage in dialogue with all concerned groups so that the matter is settled peacefully. It also appealed to the people not to be frightened and misled by the disinformation campaign by certain vested interests with regard to their land rights. The party also reaffirmed its commitment to work for upholding the basic constitutional and legal rights provided to each and every individual irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
