Assam has found a new reason for a bandh — alleged denial of berth to a tribal MLA in the Sarbananda Sonowal Ministry that was expanded on Thursday.
A group of nine organisations, including Jatiya Aikya Mancha, All Tiwa Students’ Union, Koch-Rajbongshi Students’ Union and Chutiya Jati Sammilan, enforced a 12-hour shutdown on Friday in protest against the non-inclusion of BJP MLA from Morigaon Ramakanta Deuri. Tiwa and Chutiya are tribes while the Koch-Rajbonshi community is demanding ST status along with five others.
The bandh was effective only in Morigaon but it led to stray incidents of violence with protesters burning a few vehicles. Communication, district officials said, was affected on an arterial highway that connects Guwahati to eastern Assam.“The expansion of the Ministry, delayed for almost two months, was unfair on the tribes of Assam. Our MLA’s inclusion (into the Ministry) could have portrayed the BJP as a more inclusive party,” said a spokesperson representing the protesting NGOs.
Mr. Deuri was the chief of Tiwa Jatiya Aikya Mancha before the BJP offered to field him from the Morigaon constituency. A month ago, he had embarrassed the BJP leaders by deciding to relaunch his old party as Jatiya Aikya Mancha.
Mr. Deuri had also announced fielding candidates from his new-look party for the upcoming panchayat polls in alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad, one of the BJP’s two regional allies in the State.
The BJP, keen on going it alone in the panchayat polls, chose not to confront Mr. Deuri and allowed him to go ahead with his plans, as “rural polls are area-specific and have no bearing on the larger political scenario” in Assam.
On Thursday, seven MLAs were inducted into the Sonowal Ministry taking the number of Ministers in Assam to 18. The State can have another minister. Of the seven, five are from the BJP and one each from AGP and Bodoland People’s Front.
The expansion did not go down well with a section of BJP leaders who quit key party posts in protest.
