GUWAHATI, Feb 17 ? With general elections round the corner, the almost three million strong Koch Rajbongshi community in the State have decided to intensify their battle for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani (AAKRS), spearheading the agitation, today also asserted the demand to carve a ?State within a State? for the community in Assam.
Addressing a press conference here this afternoon, AAKRS general secretary Durlav Chamua said that the Koch Rajbongshi community in the State have been demanding ST status since 1967. However, the formal inclusion in the ST list has not come about despite the issuing of successive Ordinances by the Government. ?We fulfil all the norms to be accorded ST status,? said Chamua.
The community will stage a protest rally in the city on March 8. Chamua mentioned that the demand of the Koch Rajbongshis was ignored and the community was denied the ST status in 2002 when 145 other communities were accorded the status through a Bill in Parliament. He said that it is unfortunate that the community?s rightful demand was being ignored despite the State Government?s approval.
The AAKRS, meanwhile, will now press for the creation of a separate state for the community in Assam. ?It will be a state within a state where the State Government?s role will be confined only to the maintenance of law and order,? stated Chamua. It would be more autonomous than the BTC, he said. The course to be taken towards that goal will be decided in a meeting in Guwahati on March 14 where all sections of the community will be represented.
The community?s stand during the ensuing polls will also be decided during the meeting, Chamua stated. ?We have nothing against any political party,? he hastened to add, while singling out the state BJP leaders for criticism. Chamua also hinted at the possibility of the community creating a political party of its own in the near future.
Slamming the BJP leaders of the state for doing nothing for the community, Chamua said that the party had made several ?hollow promises? that were never fulfilled. He mentioned the 1998 resolution by the BJP?s executive committee approving ST status to the Koch Rajbongshis. ?For the last five years Rajen Gohain, the BJP?s Nagaon MP and Union Minister Bijoya Chakravarty have been making repeated promises to press the issue. They have failed to keep their promise,? he said.
The AAKRS also criticised Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and the Union Tribal Affairs Minister Joel Oram for the present situation. ?They made no effort to stick to their promises.? Chamua demanded a ?public explanation? from the NDA government, Rajen Gohain and Bijoya Chakravarty. F
or Gohain and Chakravarty, the ire of the Koch Rajbongshi community may prove to be a major stumbling block in their effort to retain their Lok Sabha seats. The general secretary of the All Assam Mahila Sanmilani, Meera Deka, who was also present, said that her organisation has already taken a resolution to ensure the defeat of the two BJP leaders in Nagaon and Guwahati.
The Koch Rajbongshi community in the state is officially estimated at 28 lakh. ?By our estimates, we number 35 lakh,? said Chamua. He said that the community is big enough to have a deciding say in several constituencies in the state. ?We have influence in all constituencies except the two Barak Valley constituencies, Karbi Anglong and Dibrugarh,? he said.