Chirang: Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro, also the president of the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), has effectively shut down the possibility of an alliance with the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) for the upcoming BTC elections. Responding to a joint appeal by the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) and 16 other Bodo organisations, Boro today stated that while such calls for unity are respectable, the political reality is another matter entirely. The community organisations had set an August 12 deadline for Bodo-based parties to unite.
Boro’s remarks, made during a public address in Chirang, took a sharp turn towards a scathing critique of his predecessor, BPF president Hagrama Mohilary. Without mincing words, the UPPL chief said he had no issue with Mohilary criticising him, and went on to recount the “killings, violence, dictatorship, fratricidal clashes, and cold-blooded murders” that, according to him, defined Mohilary’s tenure. Boro highlighted his own role as a student leader fighting against the BPF government then, and claimed that his party’s victory five years ago had brought peace to the region.
The BTR chief stressed that the quality of leadership is paramount in determining the direction of the region. On the question of pressure from allies like the BJP in the upcoming polls, Boro chose his words carefully, avoiding naming any party but asserting his party’s resolve. “We have no fear or apprehension about anyone’s politics. Many will say many things and try to scare us with threats, but we cannot abandon our region,” he stated firmly. Boro concluded by saying that his focus remains on acknowledging the good and correcting the wrongs in the BTR, irrespective of political pressures.
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