Guwahati (Assam) [India], June 30 : Ahead of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections, BTC chief and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) President Pramod Boro said that in the line of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Viksit Bharat", they also want to make Bodoland as "Viksit Bodoland".
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Pramod Boro said that the election in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is not for political power.
"Our party, UPPL, is coming into power with an agenda to develop the region, to protect our identity and culture, to promote our language and literature. It was the long-standing demand of the Bodo people for a separate territory since 1967, and in 1987 All Bodo Students' Union started agitation, and through this movement, BLT had started an armed revolutionary movement for some years. NDFB also fought for political rights, and an accord was signed in 2003 with BLT with the support of all Bodo nationalist organisations. Again in 2020, another accord was signed with the Bodo groups, the Union government and the state government. After the 2020 Accord, the Bodo region has become peaceful, and Bodo people are trying to achieve their goal through different activities," Pramod Boro said.
He further said, "We are now waiting for the 125th amendment of the Constitution of India by which the sixth schedule will be strengthened. We don't have the financial power, but the region is a vast region. There are so many gaps in development, infrastructure, and socio-economic development. We need so much support, patronisation from the Government of India."
"But that has not happened because of a lack of mandate and power in the council in the sixth schedule area. Not only Bodoland, but all sixth schedule councils of the North Eastern region," Boro stated.
Criticising the previous BPF council government led by Hagrama Mohilary, the BTC chief said that some political parties want only to come into power.
"We are going to contest in the upcoming elections of BTC to rebuild our society, regain our lost trust, and unity among different communities. This is very crucial for the people of Bodoland. Some political parties want to come into power. We are not thinking only of power, we are thinking of rebuilding our region, society, to achieve the targeted goal - goal for an advanced society, our dignity, identity and culture for which the Bodo people lost thousands of people, which we call martyrs of the Bodo movement. We have that commitment, politics is second, but first is how to build the society, how to regain whatever we lost and to develop our region," Boro said.
He also said that in the way of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Viksit Bharat, we must have access, we must have that opportunity to go ahead along with the mission and vision of the Government of India, the Government of Assam.
The BTC chief said, "So this election is very important for the people of the Bodoland region. We have the inherited legacy of a lack of policy in the government at the time of the Bodoland People's Front (BPF). There was a chaotic situation in the governance system. Now we have organised the entire government system, we have made a good, effective governance system, people-centric governance, and people-friendly governance started in the last 4 years. It was a big challenge for us as newcomers in politics and administration."
"Earlier, there was no policy. I have gone through the budget speech of former Chief (BTC) Hagrama Mohilary of his 17-year rule in BTC. There was a total policy vacuum in his time. We organise every sector - education, health, agriculture, other economic activities, to regain the mutual trust, co-exist, to provide justice to each citizen, community, and to fulfil their aspirations at the council level, recognition of their culture, and to preserve their language. We have done lots of things," the BTC Chief added.
Boro further asserted, "We have 36 flagship programmes in the council government, and we are trying to implement all the flagship programmes of the centre and state. We are trying to fill up the gaps and these kinds of initiatives are going on. Mainly, we are focusing on education, from Anganwadi, primary level to university level. We are trying to fill up all the vacant posts of teachers, train the teachers, career counselling programme for all students. In the last 4 years, we have started the Bodofa Super 50 Mission for medical, engineering, UPSC, and APSC students to provide them with coaching at no cost. We have also started the Bodofa Livelihood Mission, for which we are supporting lakhs of farmers, artisans, weavers, and unemployed youths. So that kinds of initiatives are going on."
The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections is likely to be held later this year.