GUWAHATI, Jan 17— Militant outfit Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT), which is under ceasefire agreement with the Government of India, is of the view that all sections of people of Assam must fight together to thwart the inhuman acts of violence like the killing of 13 innocent persons near Bijni on the night of January 15 last. Talking to The Assam Tribune here today, the BLT publicity secretary, MainaoDaimary, said that the attack on January 15 was an act of frustration by the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) as the outfit was isolated from the Bodo masses. He said that all sections of people must join hands to stop such killing of innocent persons. “In 1999, when we had some talks with the leaders of the NDFB, we opposed their attitude towards the non-Bodos,” he added.
Commenting on the progress of the ongoing peace talks, the BLT publicity secretary said that the outfit had agreed to go for extension of the ceasefire, which was scheduled to end on January 21, and added that the Central Government is likely to make the formal announcement in this regard within a day or two. The BLT had earlier gave a deadline of January 21 for the solution of the Bodo problem,” “but we decided to go for extension of the ceasefire for three more months in view of the progress made in the last round of tripartite talks at New Delhi on January 9,” he added. He further said that in the last round of tripartite talks a four-member committee comprising one representative each from the State and Central Governments and two from the BLT was formed to prepare the draft agreement, pointing out that the first siting of the committee is scheduled for January 19. The State Government representatives in the meeting revealed that the issue was discussed in the State Cabinet and the formal decision of the Cabinet is awaited. He also revealed that all those who participated in the tripartite meeting also met the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, who was at New Delhi at that time and Gogoi assured that the State Government would send the Cabinet note to the Centre paving the way for creation of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution by January 22.
The State Government has also formed a three-member Cabinet committee comprising Bharat Chandra Narah, Dr Bhumidhar Barman and Devenanda Konwar to settle the boundary of the proposed BTC and discussions are on between the committee and the BLT. The Cabinet committee has decided to take the opinion of the MLAs of the lower Assam districts before finalising the boundary of the proposed BTC. The BLT publicity secretary lamented the fact that successive State Governments failed to take necessary steps for the protection of the tribal belts and blocks is one of the factor for the Bodo movement. He said that this issue was raised by the BLT in successive tripartite talks. “The area demanded by the BLT for inclusion in the proposed BTC covers only the areas under the tribal belts and blocks and tribal sub-plan,” he asserted.
Commenting on the recent statement by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) calling for an amicable settlement of the Bodo problem, Daimary said that it was a welcome development and such statements would help the ongoing process for an amicable solution of the problem. “It is a good sign that the present leadership of the AASU have now realised the need for the problems facing the ethnic groups of the State. We believe that unity among the ethnic groups of Assam is a must under the present circumstances,” he added.