Feb. 10: Upbeat Bodo leaders today promised not to commit the ?same mistakes? which led to the failure of the 1993 accord but sought the co-operation of their ?Assamese brethren? for the success of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
?Let me assure you, there will be no repetition of what happened with the 1993 Accord, which was done in a hurried manner,? BLT leader Mainao Daimary said after signing of the pact in New Delhi today between the outfit, the Centre and the Assam government.
However, the accord drew a sharp retort from the apex non-Bodo organisation ? Sanmilita Janagosthiya Sangram Samiti ? which termed it the ?murder of democracy?.
Aware of the resentment, Bodo leaders forcefully declared that the non-Bodos have nothing to fear in the new set-up. ?That we have accepted all the constitutional safeguards is enough indication of the fact that we do not have any intention of causing harm to the non-Bodos. But we should guard against some sections that have started spreading false rumours about us,? cautioned Rajya Sabha MP and former Absu leader, Urkhao Gwra Brahma.
The Bodo leaders hoped that the BTC would usher in a new chapter to the lives of the 23 lakh people who inhabit the region within the state but also admitted that ?much will depend on the implementation of the provisions of the accord?.
?The matter simply does not end with putting signatures on the agreements. Much will depend on how the provisions are implemented in due course,? Daimary, who is the BLT publicity secretary, added.
Daimary said co-operation of the Assamese people is a necessary ingredient in the successful implementation of the pact. ?We would expect the same spirit of co-operation from them in the implementation of the provisions, mainly because the Sixth Schedule in the plains will be a new and novel experiment,? he added.
Striking the same note, convenor of the Bodo Peoples? Action Committee Reoreoa Narzary said there has been a ?traditional divide? between the Assamese and the Bodos and expressed the hope that the pact would bridge that gulf.
?We appeal to the Assamese people to give us a chance to draw closer. Let this agreement, which perhaps would not have been possible without their assistance and co-operation, be a new beginning in our relations. Let us bury all our differences and look towards a new future,? said an emotional Narzary after the accord was signed.
A 12-hour Kamtapur bandh by the All-Assam Koch Rajbongshi Students? Union to protest the signing of the accord affected normal life in the Koch-Rajbongshi dominated areas of Lower Assam. The bandh also evoked a partial response in Adivasi pockets. Kokrajhar district superintendent of police, Bijoy Krishna, said the bandh was partial in Kokrajhar district. Deputy chief convenor of the SJSS, Brajen Mahanta, expressed apprehension that the accord would only pave the way for the militants to launch a fresh ethnic cleansing drive against non-Bodos.