Kokrajhar (Assam), Jan 28: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Tuesday said he is hopeful that the Centre will introduce the 125th Constitution Amendment Bill in the upcoming Parliament session that aims to devolve more powers to tribal autonomous councils like the one in Bodo-dominated areas of the state.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of an event held here to mark five years of the Bodo Peace Accord of 2020, Sarma said his government will work to “consolidate” the gains of this tripartite pact in a manner that it does not “derail” the peace process.
The chief minister was accompanied by Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief executive member Pramod Boro.
“There is a proposal…we call it the 125th Amendment of the Constitution. The state government is supporting the amendment.
“The government of India is in process of bringing that Constitutional amendment. Standing Committee discussion is over. Both of us (BTC chief Boro) are hopeful that something positive we will see in the coming Budget Session,” he said.
The Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by the Union government in 2019. The Bill seeks to amend provisions related to the Finance Commission and the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Sixth Schedule relates to the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
The Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), set up under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, comprises five districts — Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baska, Udalguri and Tamulpur and it administers 8,970 sq km of the BTR inhabited by more than 31 lakh people, including the Bodos, the single-largest Scheduled Tribe in Assam.
Sarma, when asked about the BTC seeking more funds for initiation of development works, said money is “not an issue” but it is his belief that giving rather than taking should be the way.
Pointing towards Boro, Sarma said “we will work together” to ensure the overall development of the BTR. The chief minister also said the Council is getting funds from three sources — Assam government, the Centre and through their own avenues.
“Six thousand people came to the mainstream (due to the 2020 accord). Had they got weapons you can think of the consequences. There has been no armed person over the last 3.5 years in this region.
“Leave alone violence, there has not been any democratic agitation. BTR is now an island of peace,” he said.
Sarma said the narrative of Bodo, non-Bodo has ended.
Asked if his party will fight the upcoming elections in BTR alongside Boro, Sarma said the state BJP president and the BTC chief will decide on these issues and that it is a matter of “strategy”.
“Last time we contested independently and came together post the polls. The BJP has a strong presence here but we have not claimed the post of the chief of deputy chief (of the BTC). This is the BJP way of not interfering with the development of tribals,” he said.
He said Assam and BTR were “not different” and all of them shared the prosperity.
Asked about the situation along the India-Bangladesh border in the state, the chief minister said “Assam is very very vigilant when it comes to infiltration from Bangladesh”.
“Today, situation in Bangladesh is not good. We have heard that ISI along with a section of Bangladeshi establishment is trying to re-group with militants in Northeast…within Assam, nobody wants to disturb peace,” he said, adding there was no local support for insurgency in the border state.
On a question on ULFA chief Paresh Baruah, Sarma said Barua “also wants peace and does not want to derail peace and stability in the state”.
When asked if Assam is proposing to invite industrialists for investments in the BTR region, the chief minister said tribal people are “very sensitive” about land and hence they have to be talked with, taken into confidence before land is allotted for industries and businesses.
“Development will be done all along but we have to be sensitive when negotiating with tribals,” he said. (PTI)
