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JACAS sore over Govt role on autonomous State demand

By Correspondent

DIPHU, Jan 7 - The Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS) has expressed its resentment over the role of the Central and State Governments over its long-pending demand.

The JACAS clarified that the hill people voted the BJP to power not exactly for the �Achhe Din� and �Parivartan� that it promised to the nation in general, but for its poll promise on implementation of Article 244(A) of the Constitution. Regional autonomy in the form of Autonomous State has been the aspiration of hill people since long and it is equivalent to the BJP�s �Achhe Din� and �Parivartan� for the people of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.

In the last three decades in Karbi Anglong politics, elections have been fought on the Autonomous State issue. Parties have been voted to and out of power on their commitment to the demand for Autonomous Statehood. For its lack of sincerity towards the demand for Autonomous Statehood as provided under Article 244 (A) of the Constitution, the Congress, the longest ruling party in Karbi Anglong, was voted out of power and the ASDC, a regional force, was voted to power in 1989.

Likewise, the ASDC, which appeared to be an invincible regional force at the time, was also voted out of power by the disillusioned and disgruntled hill people which voted the Congress back to power in 2001. After a year of its coming to power, on April 9, 2015, the BJP-led NDA Government resumed talks on the Autonomous State issue, which had been initiated by the UPA Government with the JACAS and held on September 2, 2013. But it appears that the talks were nothing but farcical, the JACAS said.

In April 2015, the JACAS� negotiating team had a discussion with Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs for furtherance of talks, but the proposed discussion is yet to be scheduled. Further, Arun Terang, president of BJP�s Karbi Anglong district committee led a joint delegation of the JACAS, the KLNLF and the KANCHASDCOM to New Delhi on December 22, 2015.

The Union Minister mooted joint discussion and advised the delegation to meet Union Joint Secretary Satyendra Garg. Accordingly, the delegation met the latter the same evening, though no communication has been received in this regard till date, the JACAS stated.

As political transition in this particular hill area now is in favour of the BJP, the Karbi Anglong leadership of the party, it seems, has forgotten their commitment to the demand. Implementation of Article 224 (A) of the Constitution was one of the major poll promises made by the BJP to the hill people of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. To reach out to the hill people for their support, the BJP�s Karbi Anglong district committee circulated national general secretary Tapir Gao�s letter wherein it was stated that �The BJP will still stick to its commitment on creation of smaller States, including implementation of Article 224(A) of Indian Constitution for the two hill districts of Assam,� the JACAS added.

On the other hand, on March 30, 2014, in an election rally at Dokmoka in Karbi Anglong, Rajnath Singh, the then BJP president made a public announcement that the demand for implementation of Article 224(A) would be seriously considered, in the event of BJP�s coming into power at the Centre.

Rajnath Singh�s reassuring announcement, besides the open support of the JACAS helped the party in securing power in a traditional Congress bastion of three autonomous districts where at that point of time the BJP�s presence was marginal.

The success has firmed the BJP�s hold in Karbi Anglong as an alternative to the Congress and helped it wrest all the five ST seats but one in the Assembly election of 2016. Interestingly, the one seat that was lost to the Congress was subsequently won by the BJP in the by-election held on November, 19, 2016, the JACAS said.

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