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Extra security cover for BTC areas

	April 10, 2006

With a view to conducting a smooth, free and fair election, 66 additional companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in the four districts under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).



With electioneering peaking in the Bodo belt, Bodoland Peoples Progressive Front (BPPF) president and party candidate from East Kokrajhar, Rabiram Narzary, came down heavily on the ruling Congress under chief minister Tarun Gogoi. He held the government responsible for “continuing infiltration to tribal belts and blocks in the state”.



“The Congress government of Assam has totally failed to protect all the 45 tribal belts and blocks of the state and is encouraging foreign nationals, including Bangladeshi migrants, to settle in these areas,” he said.



Terming the Congress as the main enemy of the tribal people of the state, including Bodos, Narzary said the interests of the indigenous tribal people would not be protected unless the Congress was dethroned.



He also accused the Congress of demoralising the tribal people’s organisations working for the communities through its divide-and-rule policies.



Narzary also said major clauses of the Bodo Accord have not been implemented and “instead, the Congress is taking political mileage out of it”.







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Mutiny in police quarters



Tension simmered at the Dibrugarh police reserve on April 4 as 550 personnel refused to proceed to their respective destinations for the second phase of the Assam Assembly polls, alleging a “raw deal” from their superiors.



The policemen, including 50 Havildars and Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASI), had just completed their poll duties in various polling stations of Dibrugarh district and were ordered to move towards Baksa, Karbi Anglong and Udalguri at 8 am on April 4.



However, they refused to carry out the orders, alleging that they had not been given any travel allowance for their journey. “We have just returned from our respective duties and are very tired. We still agreed to go because it is duty first for us. But how can we move without money to such long distances?” one of them questioned.



The policemen have decided to approach the Election Commission with their grievances.





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Allegations and counter-allegations in the first round



The first round of polling which ended on April 3 was not free from allegations and counter-allegations of malpractices by various political leaders and parties. According to reports, Returning Officer for Kamrup district has already begun proceedings against AGP president Brindaban Goswami spokesman Apurba Bhattacharjee and a senior functionary of the party’s southern ally, the Telugu Desam, on charges of violating the Representation of the People Act.



The Election Commission ordered cases to be filed against the AGP duo and Telugu Desam MP Rama Mohan Rao for holding a news conference in Guwahati on Sunday, after the end of campaigning for the first phase of elections in 65 constituencies. BJP leader Pramod Mahajan is facing a similar charge. Like Mahajan, the AGP denied having violated any of the Election Commission’s guidelines.





Opposition assessment of the first round



Terming the large turnout in the first phase of the Assam Assembly poll as the people’s wish to witness a change, CPI leader A.B. Bardhan said he was confident of forming a coalition government with their regional partner, the AGP, in the state.



Addressing a press conference, Bardhan said Congress rule in Assam was over and that people have started depending on non-Congress parties for a solution to problems such as unemployment and insurgency.



“I must congratulate the people of Assam for exercising their franchise. The Election Commission also deserves praise for holding the election in a peaceful manner. As far as information and reports received from different parts of the state, the ruling Congress has no chance of coming back to power. No party is going to get absolute majority in this election. Under these circumstances Left parties like CPI will play a crucial role in forming the next government,” he said.



He said the Left parties were working on creating a third front sans Congress and BJP.



He further added that the CPI was keeping a close watch on the UPA government at the Centre in case the latter deviated from the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).



Bardhan backed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent statement of virtually ruling out integration of Naga-inhabitated areas of the Northeast, which is the main demand of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah).