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Government indifferent as protest is non-violent: Bodo groups

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IANS New Delhi
Last Updated : Mar 11 2017 | 9:07 PM IST

The Bodos -- who are on an indefinite hunger strike demanding a new state -- on Friday said the government would have paid attention to their issues had their movement been violent.

"Government is deliberately not showing any interest in resolving the Bodo issues. It is not interested in anything related to any non-violent movement," the Bodo organisations leading the protest said in a statement.

The group said the government only "understands the language of violence causing law and order situation".

The hunger strike is led by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), National Democratic Front of Bodoland-(Progressive) and the People Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement (PJACBM).

The community has warned that if their issue was not resolved, they would be compelled to declare hours of road and rail blockades and economic blockades starting next month.

The Bodo bodies have said though the government had initiated talks with them on the issue, "the negotiation has been halted, which means the regime is not willing to resolve the problem."

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They also threatened economic blockades on the lines of the Manipur economic blockade.

Over 2,000 agitated people participated in the hunger strike in Kokrajhar and other parts of the Bodo Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), which also includes Chirang, Baksha and Udalguri.

"During the UPA tenure several rounds of talks were held with the government for negotiation of peaceful solution. But during the last three years of Modi government in Delhi we have not seen any measures to resume the talk with the movement organisation," Pramod Bodo, president of ABSU, told IANS.

On the second day of the hunger strike, the health of some of the members started deteriorating and they had to be given medical attention.

--IANS

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First Published: Mar 11 2017 | 9:00 PM IST

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