New Delhi: The demand to arm the tribal autonomous councils in the Northeast with greater financial and executive powers is set to receive a collective push with 10 such councils of the region joining hands to get it back on Centre’s table.
The parties, governing these councils formed under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, which have allied to push the Central government include allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party, such as the National People’s Party (NPP), Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA Motha) and the United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL).
ThePrint has learnt that a decision in this regard was taken by the chief executive members and other senior leaders of these parties in meetings held in New Delhi on Monday and Saturday.
The development comes at a time when the BJP and its allies are on the backfoot in the Northeast, having failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat in states with tribal majority — Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.
Essentially, the parties have created a joint forum to push for the passage of the Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill that was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 6 February, 2019.
The bill seeks to bring significant amendments to the administrative, including financial, structures of the councils in the Sixth Schedule areas, governed by Article 244(2) and 275(1) of the Constitution of India.
The leaders of BJP allies NPP and TIPRA Motha, which are in power in Khasi Hills Autonomous District Councils (KHADC) and Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTADC) respectively, confirmed that the Ministry of Home Affairs has called them for talks on the issue.
The 10 councils are spread across Sixth Schedule areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Of the three councils in Assam, North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council and Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council, are governed by the BJP, while the UPPL is the largest party in the coalition running the Bodoland Territorial Council.
In Meghalaya, the three autonomous district councils — covering the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills divisions respectively — are all governed by the NPP-led ruling alliance, of which BJP is a part. TIPRA Motha runs the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
In Mizoram, the Lai and Chakma Autonomous District Councils are governed by the Mizo National Front (MNF), which is also a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituent, while the Mara council is led by the BJP.
The demand to get the 125th Constitution Amendment Bill passed also comes at a time when elections are due to be held in the Khasi and Jaintia autonomous district councils later this year. The Bodoland Territorial Council also goes to polls next year.
“The NPP has no option but to raise the demand aggressively to remain in the contest as the new entrant, Voice of the People Party, has made significant inroads among the Khasis, having won the Shillong Lok Sabha seat. The UPPL, on the other hand, will be pitted against the Bodoland People’s Front,” a leader present at the two meetings told ThePrint.
The joint forum, of which KHADC will be the convenor, will also make a case for the exclusion of Sixth Schedule areas from the ambit of the Uniform Civil Code, in the event of it being implemented in the country, two leaders, who attended the meetings, said.
“This is the first time in decades that all the 10 tribal autonomous councils of the region have come together on a common platform. Our decisions have also been taken against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh that has triggered a large inflow of people from across the border into India. The passage of the bill is imperative to strengthen the protection that our indigenous communities require in terms of ownership of land, royalty from extraction of mineral resources,” said TIPRA Motha founder Pradyot Manikya Debbarma.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)