GUWAHATI, Jan 27 - Slamming both the State and Central governments over the new tripartite agreement signed today with all the four factions of the NDFB and the ABSU, Kokrajhar MP Naba Kumar Sarania said the government has repeated the same mistake made during the signing of the BTC Accord in 2003.
�We are not against the peace process but unfortunately, the interests of the other ethnic tribes in the area have been ignored once again in the agreement,� he said.
He added that to save the interests and protect the rights of all ethnic groups residing in the BTAD � now renamed Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) � the government should take special steps.
�With the new agreement, new villages are going to be included in the BTR. The matter of inclusion of new villages will be finalised by a commission. So, we demand inclusion of representatives from the non-Bodo section too in such a commission. Otherwise, the interests of the non-Bodo ethnic people will no longer be protected,� he said.
Sarania also criticised the government for finalising the peace agreement without taking opinions from all sections of people residing in Bodoland. At the same time, he also urged all sections of the public to maintain peace and harmony in such a critical situation.
He also requested the government not to deprive the families who were victims of extremist violence from getting justice in the name of peace process. He asserted that the movement to protect the non-Bodo people living in the BTR will continue after discussions with all stakeholders.
Meanwhile, Brajen Mahanta, adviser of the Abodo Surakshya Samiti, today said that the non-Bodo people of Bodoland under the aegis of the Samiti will carry out a long march demanding socioeconomic and other protection for them in the BTR. The date and place of the long march will be finalized by Tuesday after a meeting of all stakeholders.
AJYCP general secretary Palash Changmai, commenting on the peace process, warned the government not to convert the non-Bodo ethnic people of Bodoland into second class citizens in the name of bringing peace to the State. �We will not tolerate any attempt that will violate the rights of any indigenous people of Assam,� he added.