Centre must Ensure Rights of Non-Bodos in BTR, Says MP Naba Sarania

Guwahati, February 6, 2020:

Naba Kumar Sarania, the MP who represents Kokrajhar in the Lok Sabha, said that the Centre must ensure the rights of the non-Bodos, further claiming that when PM Modi lands in Kokrajhar tomorrow, he will only be addressing the concerns of 30% of the public in the area.

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Sarania lamented that close to 10,000 people died in the Bodoland struggle, many of them non-Bodos, but he was not consulted before inking of the peace pact between the Government and the Bodo organizations. Sarania further claimed that 6-7 lakh people had to leave their homes amidst the armed struggle for a separate state Bodoland.

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The Kokrajhar MP said that discussions must be held about land rights, village formation, reservation, rehabilitation, compensation, jobs, as well as political reservation must be deliberated upon at length by the Government, and said that the Centre must hold these discussions within 20 days.

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Sarania, stating that although 1,500 cadres had surrendered, only 100 militants had laid down arms, and called upon the Government to ensure that the region's militants part with their weapons.

Lamenting that the non-Bodos could not secure their rights after the signing of the earlier two pacts with the Centre, Sarania said the non-Bodo organizations will raise the issues at the Court to ensure that their rights are secured after creation of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

Speaking on the lines of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Sarania lamented that the indigenous organizations are not cooperating with the non-Bodos in the region in their fight against the CAA.

The MP also stated that the non-Bodos must not celebrate the signing of the Accord, which has been termed as PM Narendra Modi as "historic".

Reacting to the inclusion and exclusion of villages in the newly formed BTR, Sarania said that the people should not pay money to people in relation to this.

It may be mentioned here that Prime Minister Narendra Modi shall be visiting Kokrajhar in Assam on Friday to participate in the celebrations of the signing of the Bodo Agreement.

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