BONGAIGAON, July 18 - The Pradip Ray faction of the AKRSU organised a citizens� convention in Bongaigaon on Sunday to seek their guidance on Kamatapur and ST issues.
Koch-Rajbongshi people from different walks of life took part at the convention held at the District Library auditorium here and put forward their views to the student group.
Gokul Barman, general secretary of the student group, in his opening address, said that they needed proper guidance of the elders of the community to shape the future course of their movement on Kamatapur and the ST issue.
Tarani Kanta Roy, former principal of Ratnapith College, Chapar in Dhubri district expressed his displeasure over the division in the AKRSU that has now two factions. He also wanted to know whether the �Chilarai Sena� was an overground or underground wing of the student group.
Roy bluntly said that the community has failed to move unitedly and build pressure on the government to meet their demands as its organisations have allegiance to different political parties and interests.
AKRSU president Pradip Ray, who had chaired the convention, in his reply to Tarini Kanta Roy, said that �Chilarai Sena� is neither an underground nor an overground unit but a purely volunteer wing of the student group.
Koch-Rajbongshi organisations are �divided� on different interests, because of which they are in the dark about modalities the Union Government wants to adopt before opening up talks on the ST issue, said Bimal Barman, president of Koch-Rajbongshi United Forum.
�The agitation of the Koch-Rajbongshi people would never cease till the community gets its right to self-realisation,� Barman said.
All Assam Koch-Rajbongshi Sanmilani president Deva Kumar Saikia, who believes the community has every criteria to find place in the ST list, called upon the student group to be clear about �modalities� and �criteria� fixed by the Union Government for ST status.
Most of the citizens suggested that the organisations be united under a joint forum so that the demands of the community can be resolved soon.
At the end of the convention, the student group decided to form a joint forum including all the Koch-Rajbongshi groups to press for the community�s demand. However, a very few citizens put forwarded their views on Kamatapur demand in the convention.
