Announcement Of Article 244(A) Gains Ground

HT Bureau

DIPHU, April 25: The Karbi Anglong & NC Hills Autonomous State Demand Committee (KANCHASDCOM) and its allies have appealed to the people of Karbi Anglong to attend Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s rally at Loringthepi on April 28 to demonstrate unanimity regarding implementation of Article 244(A) of the Indian Constitution.

Addressing a joint press conference at KANCHASDCOM office here on Monday, the president of KANCHASDCOM, Ajit Timung said the KANCHASDCOM and its allies – Karbi Students Association, Karbi Riso Adorbar, Karbi Adorbar, Karbi So-arlo Amei, Karbi Un-employed Youth Association and Dimasa Students Union – have welcomed the visit of the Prime Minister expecting an announcement from him on implementation of Article 244(A).

The demand for an Autonomous State is more than 36 years old. The Article 244(A) was inserted in the Indian Constitution in 1971.

“We appeal to all sections of the people, all political parties and all social organisations to attend the Prime Minister’s rally to demonstrate our long standing demand before him,” Timung said.

Meanwhile, echoing a similar view the Autonomous State Demand Committee (ASDC) wants the Prime Minister to make a declaration on the demand for an autonomous state.

In a press conference convened at ASDC central committee office here on Monday, the party president, Chandra Kanta Terang said, “The  Prime Minister is very much aware of the constitutional provision enshrined in the Constitution under Article 244(A) to create an Autonomous State for Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao since 1969, but we have missed the bus during the creation of Meghalaya and also during the re-organisation of Northeast India in 1971 because we were betrayed by Assam government and also by the treacherous act of All Party Hills Leaders Conference (APHLC) leaders.”

He further said, “Karbi leaders like Bapuram Singnar, Barelong Terang and others were never taken into confidence by APHLC leaders. By the time our leaders knew that we were kept at the option level, it was already too late as the bill for the creation of an Autonomous State for Meghalaya was already passed in Parliament.”

Terang also said during an election meeting in 2009 at Kheroni in West Karbi Anglong, the then Deputy Prime Minister, LK Advani spoke about Autonomous State and again on June 7, 2014, in an election meeting at Dokmoka, the then national president of BJP, Rajnath Singh too promised to take up Autonomous State issue if BJP was voted to power.

ASDC said, even the election manifesto of the BJP for the bye-election to Baithalangso LA in 2016 and in the 2017 Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) election also promised to make the Autonomous State a reality. Again in the 2019 Parliamentary election, the BJP manifesto also promised to leave no stone unturned to implement Article 244(A).