For the two-phase Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) polls to be held next month, the election manifesto was released by the Assam BJP on Friday. It pledged to implement the BTR (Bodoland Territorial Region) Accord which was signed previously in this year, “in letter and spirit.”
Emphasis on land patta is done in the manifesto for the people who have settled in government lands taking permission for process of buying and selling lands will be over in a month. The manifesto has 50 key issues of the BTC region.
“Seats in BTC would be increased from 40 to 60 if the BJP came to power in the council. The additional 20 seats will have representation from all communities. Besides, in accordance with the clauses of the BTR Accord, villages which prefer to be excluded from BTR can go out, while those in the fringe areas can be a part of BTC”, said Himanta Biswa Sarma to reporters.
Both Bodo and Assamese languages will be given importance according to the manifesto in BTC along with other community languages.
“The cases of political killings in BTAD so far would be fast-tracked and taken to their logical conclusion,” he added.
Sarma said, “Ten per cent posts would be reserved for economically weaker sections”.
Set up of colleges in every sub-division is also included in the BJP manifesto.
A three-tier-decentralized panchayat system will be introduced in place of the Village Council Development Committees (VCDC) in BTC.
The Minister said, “People of BTC will also benefit from government schemes such as Arunodoi, Arundhati, old age and widow pension schemes once the BJP comes into power”.
Construction of one campus of Bodo University in Udalguri, one medical college in Tamulpur, 30-bed hospitals in each of the 40 seats besides 40 stadiums would be done in BTC as said by Sarma.