The Assam Congress on Thursday welcomed the recent peace accord with Bodo militant groups and said the interests of other communities living in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) should also be protected.
The accord, signed on January 27, changed the name Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) into Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) along with a number of political and economic bonanza.
The party on Thursday held a core committee meeting here to discuss the issue. It formed two committees — one to go through the agreement and another to interact with non-Bodo communities living in BTR to get their reactions on the accord.
PCC president Ripun Bora said senior party leader Rakibul Hussain will head the committee which will go through the accord in detail and, if required, send suggestions to the Centre.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Bhupen Kumar Borah will head the other committee which will talk to the organisations.
“The Congress welcomes joining of all the Bodo militant groups into the mainstream through the accord. The Congress had started the process (of bringing Bodo militants into the peace process). We also welcome the packages announced by the Centre for overall development of the Bodo community. We want successful implementation of all these packages,” said Bora.
“People from all communities live in the BTR. Along with development of the Bodos we want development of all these communities. We demand the Centre and the state government to assure that the non-Bodo communities living in BTR can enjoy their constitutional rights as well as see all-round development,” he added.
The Assam Congress also opposed the reported remark of Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilary that the accord is a step towards formation of a separate state for the Bodos. “This statement is unfortunate. The Assam Congress never wants to see carving out of more states from Assam,” he said.
On the party’s preparedness to the 2021 Assembly polls, Bora said the party has already announced its Mission 80 with the aim of wresting 80 of the 126 seats in the election. He said BJP will hardly win 26 seats.
