NEW DELHI: A meeting between the defence minister Sharad Pawar and representatives of the Assam government and the Bodo groups agitating for a separate state here failed to make any head away and has instead led to hardening of attitude’s among the Bodo groups highly placed source said here.
During the 90 minute meeting the third in less than a month representative of the all Bodo students Union (ABSU) and the Bodo Peoples Action Committee reportedly kept silent most of the time waiting for the state government representatives to place concrete proposals to solve the Bodo land issue. The chief minister Hiteswar Saikia and the state minister Golok Rajbongshi were present.
During the last meeting it was decided that the state government after an all-party meeting on the Bodo issue would place concrete proposals at the meeting.
However since the all-party meet Theldn Guwahau recently failed to evolve any such proposal apart from reiterating its opposition to further division of Assam there was little substance in the meeting. Another all-party meeting is scheduled to be held in Guwahati on June 8 the sources said.
The report of the expert committee on the plains tribes of Assam has 4 dy been rejected by the Bodo groups and now the effort is on to evolve a new basis for resolving the Bodo agitation that has already taken a heavy toll on life and property. The sources said Pawar conveyed to the Bodo leaders that the Center was trying to formulate a basis for a possible agreement.
Ever since the tripartite talks had been initiated between the Center Assam government and the Bodo groups in 1989 the issue has been handled by ministers in charge of three separate ministries. The first round of talks under the aegis of the then Union welfare minister Rajendra Kumari Vajpayee.
The issue was later handled by the same ministry during the National Front government by Ram Vilas Paswan. However the last formal tripartite talks held early this year were attended by the Union Minister of state for home M.M.Jacob.
Now the issue is apparently being handled by the Union defence minister who during the last three months has had a series of meetings on the issue though unlike the earlier formal tripartite meetings these have not been announced openly.
The Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao had recently conveyed to a delegation of Bodo leaders that the problem would be resolved to the satisfaction of all.
Bodo leaders however are understood to have been dissatisfied with the deliberations and wonder whether the Center was keen to solve the issue They have meanwhile strongly denied a report stating that they had agreed to give up their demand for a separate State as contended by Satkia in Guwahati recently.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 5, 1992
