Slogans rend air at Dispur Last Gate during Budget Session of Assam Legislative Assembly

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Budget Session of Assam Legislative Assembly began from January 28, 2019 and along with the commotion inside, it has also caused a stir outside.

On the very first day of the Session, opposition parties thundered against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the house. At Dispur Last Gate, here in the city, various organizations staged protests upholding their own various demands.

The union of Non–Bodo Surakshya Samiti (NBSS), Assam, forwarded a memorandum to the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal informing about their various demands. They objected to the proposal of a Bodoland formation and urged the government to review the BTC Accord.

“The BTC Accord has been signed and BTC under Six Schedule has been created, which is a vast area of more than 8300 square km with 3082 villages. At least 1000 villages are inhabitated by more than 50% non- Bodo people. These villages having more than 50% Non-Bodo population should be excluded from the BTC and ST status should be provided to the six communities including Koch Rajbongshi and Adivasis”, the union opined. “We want the government to secure the basic rights of the Non-Bodo people living in BTAD”, NBSS added. Along with the NBSS union, Kokrajhar MP Hira Saranya also participated in the protest rally.

The Kalita Janagosthi Sanmilan (KJS), Assam also was part of the protest demonstration in the city. They demanded that the Kalita community should also be included in the Sixth Schedule. GS Bhomeswar Phukan commented, “The Kalita community in Assam is 70 lakh. We have our unique identity and fulfill the criterion required for inclusion in the Sixth Schedule, which is our prime demand.” The Sodou Asom Madhyana Bhojan Karmachari Union (SAMBKU) protested against the decision of the government to entrust NGO’s with providing the mid-day meals in schools. According to the union, there are 15 NGO’s running in the state that provides mid-day meal which does not meet the guidelines set down by the centre. The union has demanded that the responsibility be handed back to SAMBKU and cooks/helpers are provided a monthly wage of Rs 5000 for the entire year. The Assam Tea Tribe Students’ Association (ATTSA) complained that there are 108 sub-tribes in the tea community, out of which only 36 tribes have been taken into consideration. They demonstrated that the entire community be considered for Six Schedule by the government.

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