New Delhi [India], November 22 : Bodo organisations held a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding the timely implementation of the Bodo Accord and the passage of the 125th Constitutional Amendment Bill.
As Bodo organisations held a protest over their demands, Dipen Boro, President of the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), said that more than half a dozen clauses of the 2020 peace deal have not been properly implemented. He urged that the financial and administrative powers of the Sixth Schedule councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram be strengthened.
"... As per the 125th Amendment and Article 280, the financial and administrative powers of Sixth Schedule councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram must be strengthened... Militant organisations of these four states have signed peace deals with the government. More than half a dozen clauses of the 2020 peace deal have not been implemented properly. We have met the Union Home Minister quite a number of times for this. More than 12 rounds of the Joint Monetary Committee's tripartite review meeting have been held with the Union Home Secretary..." Boro told ANI.
Earlier, a national seminar was organised by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) at the Constitution Club of India, bringing together tribal autonomous district councils, constitutional experts, parliamentarians and movement organisations from across the Northeast to place a united appeal before the Union Government ahead of the winter session of Parliament, an official press release said.
Speaking on behalf of ABSU and the signatories of the Bodo Accord, President Dipen Boro, in his keynote address, said, "This seminar brings together tribal councils, movement groups and community leaders who have walked through many phases of struggle to secure constitutional safeguards and political rights. The amendments linked to Article 280 and the Sixth Schedule decide how our councils receive funds, exercise powers and plan development. They influence village councils, municipal structures and the responsibilities given to institutions in Bodoland and other Sixth Schedule areas.
"The Bodo Accord of 2020 promised a stronger council with wider subjects, improved financial autonomy and clear mechanisms for rehabilitation and development. Some clauses have progressed, while others remain incomplete, including full council restructuring, village bodies, land rights and the use of the Special Development Package. Review meetings have been held several times with senior officials. The next step must now come through Parliament. With this seminar, we place a clear appeal to pass the amendment to Article 280 and the Sixth Schedule in the forthcoming winter session and complete the Accord within the timeline already committed," he added.
Later, the seminar closed with a joint appeal to the Union government and the government of Assam for the time-bound implementation of the pending clauses of the Bodo Accord, the introduction of the constitutional amendment in Parliament, and stronger financial and administrative provisions for the ten Sixth Schedule councils.
The gathering drew various leaders, including Pramod Boro, former CEM of BTR and signatory of the Bodo Accord; Sukla Charan Noatia, Minister for Tribal Welfare and Minorities, Tripura; Pyniaid Sing Syiem, former CEM, KHADC; Vijay Hansaria, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court; Sabda Ram Rabha, Senior Advocate, Gauhati High Court; Aditya Khakhlari, Secretary General, All Assam Tribal Sangha and Chief Coordinator, CCTOA.