Bodo groups demand peace accord clauses implementation, protest in Delhi on Nov 20-21

GUWAHATI: The Centres continued delay in implementing the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019 has caused resentment among Bodo stakeholders, including All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), a signatory of the historic Bodo Territorial Region (BTR) Accord of 2020 that ensured the return of peace in insurgency-ravaged Bodoland. The ABSU and other signatories of the peace accord will stage a protest in New Delhi on November 20 and 21 to press the Centre to implement the pacts clauses and fast-track the Amendment Bill. Tribal representatives, political leaders, legal experts, former negotiators and community groups from Assam and across the Northeast will take part in the protest. The BTR accord marked a watershed moment in the political and socio-cultural landscape of Assam and the broader Northeast region. Central to its envisioned implementation was the proposed Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, which sought to enhance the financial and administrative autonomy of the Sixth Schedule Councils of India. Five years have elapsed since the accords signing but the Bill remains pending in Parliament, raising critical questions about the pace and sincerity of constitutional reform. The Northeast has ten autonomous councils three each in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and one in Tripura under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is one of them. Speaking at a seminar organised by Bodoland Foundation for Sustainable Futures in Guwahati on Monday, Pramod Boro, former president of ABSU and former BTC Chief Executive Member, alleged that neither the Centre nor the Assam government was taking the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill seriously. Regional aspirations for autonomy and separate states are still there with some communities of the Northeast. New demands are also coming up. Ladakh is demanding protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The Centre lost enough opportunities to strengthen the councils under the Sixth Schedule, Boro, a key architect of the 2020 peace accord, said. Pointing out that more than 3,000 Bodo youths lost their lives in waging an armed struggle to secure a separate state, he said the Bodos had firmly believed that the signing of the peace accord would lead to the strengthening of the BTC. The demands of the Bodos include more autonomy, more financial powers for the BTC and raising the number of its seats from existing 40 to 60. The council is required to take care of the aspirations of 26 tribal and non-tribal communities. At the seminar, the participants resolved to form a committee to pursue the matter in consultation with all stakeholders.