UDALGURI, Nov 3 - The All Bodo Students� Union (ABSU) took out a torchlight procession around Udalguri town on Monday protesting against the ongoing Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the north-eastern States since 2000.
Promod Boro and Rinjoy Boro, both presidents of the central committee of ABSU and Udalguri district committee respectively said that the ABSU took out the torchlight procession in and around the Udalguri town in association with the AASU, AAGSU, BSS, ABWWF, UPP and NDFB (P) protesting against the existing AFSPA in the NE states including Assam and Manipur. They further said that the AFSPA was enforced on this day 15 years back for which the iron lady Irom Sharmila had to go on an indefinite fast unto death for its withdrawal.
The rally and procession taken out on Monday evening supporting the struggle of Irom Sharmila against the �draconian law� strongly urged the Union Government to immediately withdraw the AFSPA and initiate political dialogue with a good will. �It is the duty of the BJP-led NDA Government to handle all the law and order related to the situation in the north-east with our existing laws provided in IPC/CrPC and not through making laws like AFSPA which destroy human rights and democracy,� they observed.
More than 400 students and people representing other social organisations participated in the procession from Golmachowk up to the Swahid Bedi in the heart of the town.
Talking to mediapersons on the spot, Promod Boro, president of the ABSU said that the Union Government could solve the problems by holding peace talks and not by enforcing such draconian laws. He also observed that the ABSU and all other students� organisations were always against insurgency but it did not mean that the security forces could be used to harass the innocent people elsewhere, which was seen in Assam. He also condemned the AFSPA and urged the Union Government to withdraw it at the earliest and hold peace parleys to solve the problems of the trouble-torn NE States. The torchlight procession was inaugurated by Prodeep Kumar Daimary, general secretary of newly-floated regional political party, the United Peoples� Party (UPP).
