The Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) has withdrawn its support from the ruling Congress in Assam, thus bringing an end to their eight-year-old ties.
The development, however, does not affect the Tarun Gogoi-led Assam Government as the Congress has the support of 78 MlAs in the 126-member House. The BPF rules the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) which runs the administration in four districts of Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD) — Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri.
“We thought it is of no use to remain in the Government as we have failed to provide basic security to the lives and properties of the people…The Congress was expected to cooperate with us but it went on ridiculing our party,” BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary told the media in Kokrajhar on Thursday.“We had aligned with the Congress hoping that it would ensure development to the BTC-controlled areas. But they continued to discriminate against us. People here are far from feeling secured, not to talk about development,” Mohilary said.
Mohilary also informed the media that the BPF MlA Chandan Brahma, a Minister in the Tarun Gogoi-led Assam Government, and two parliamentary secretaries would resign on Friday.
Mohilary was the chairman of erstwhile extremist group Bodo liberation Tigers (BlT) which abjured violence in 2003 following the signing of Bodo peace accord. Two years later, the former rebels, led by Mohilary, plunged into active politics by floating Bodoland People’s Progressive Front. The party won the first BTC elections but suffered a split soon after. Hagrama then formed the BPF. The BPF, which won 10 seats in the 2006 State elections, helped the Congress form the Government.
The party was in the eye of a storm in the wake of the recent killings of migrant Muslims in Bodoland. Not just some rival political parties and groups and organisations, even a section of the Congress leaders had openly blamed the BPF for the mayhem and insisted on severing ties with the party. That the BPF was miffed over such comments was apparent when the party dropped hints about going with the BJP keeping in mind the 2016 State elections.
Such posture made Gogoi to say that he would be only too happy if the BPF withdrew from the alliance. “We don’t have any problem if they want to go. I will be only too happy,” he had said.