By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Guwahati: A 15-member delegation representing three different organisations viz Samajwadi Party Assam, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushwarat, and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind met the Governor of Assam Janaki Ballabh Pattanayak at the Raj Bhawan in Guwahati on Sunday to submit separate memorandums and apprise him about the ground realities of the prevailing situation in the BTAD area. The Governor gave the delegation a very patient hearing and spent more than an hour sharing viewpoints with them.
The memorandum on behalf of the Samajwadi Party was submitted to the Governor by Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, President of the Assam State Branch of the party. Speaking to the media later, Sanjib Dutta, Secretary of the party said that the major demands made by them were seizure of all legal and illegal arms in BTAD, arrest of leaders whose provocative speeches sparked the violence and dissolution of the existing Bodoland Territorial Council immediately.
The Majlis-e-Mushwarat Memorandum was handed over to the Governor by Mustaba Farooq and it demanded handing over of all cases of violence, killings and arson etc pertaining to the current BTAD violence should be handed over to CBI instead of NIA and payment of compensation at the rate of Rs 10 lakh to next of kin of persons killed and Rs 5 lakh to the injured and other persons whose dwellings were burnt or destroyed.
Md Shafi Madani, Secretary, CSR, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, New Delhi who has been camping in the affected areas of BTAD for last three days and helping people to bury the dead and send the injured to hospitals for treatment gave a on-the-spot report of the ground realities to the Governor. He also mentioned about specific cases where government officials and police on duty were found wanting in the discharge of duties expected of them.
After listening patiently to the delegation, the Governor gave his observation point by point and informed the members that he had called senior government officials and DG Police to the Raj Bhawan on Saturday night and given clear instructions for immediate investigations into all reported cases of dereliction of duty and mete out punishment if negligence is proved.
However, the ray of hope which the Governor gave is the revelation that he has been working relentlessly for last three years to ensure Panchayat elections take place in BTAD area and this he expects to happen before the end of this year. “Once Gaon Panchayats are in place, development schemes will get implemented at the village level. The scope for corruption or deprivation would be minimal as funds would be transferred to bank accounts directly and not pass through the hands of officials. Once development happens, there would be spurt in education, healthcare and productive activities. This will pave way for end of violence and bring permanent peace in the area. I need your help and support in achieving this,” were the final remarks of the Governor.
Earlier in the day, the Muslim Youths – Forum Against Communalism, Terrorism & Sedition (MY-FACTS) organised a citizens’ meeting at Lakhiram Barua Sadan Annexe at Dighalipukhuripar in the city to discuss the same issue. The meeting was addressed by Haider Hussain, Javed Islam, Allan Brooks, Ali Akbar Mian, Hafiz Rashid Ahmed Choudhury, Prof Abdul Mannan, Ashiq Zaman, Umme Fardina Adil among others. The meeting resolved to submit a 6,000 word memorandum to the President of India seeking his intervention to bring peace in the disturbed area. Meanwhile, the All India Secular Forum has also taken an initiative for signing by at least 10,000 people an e-petition to be submitted to the President and Prime minister of the country for protection of life and property of the people living in BTAD area.