BTC floor test: CEM Pramod Boro confident of proving majority

GUWAHATI:

Newly appointed chief executive member of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Pramod Boro has said he was confident of proving his majority on the floor of the house on Thursday.

“I am confident of proving our majority on the floor of the house tomorrow,” Boro told reporters on Wednesday.

The Gauhati High Court, on Tuesday, ordered a ‘composite floor test’ in Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) by December 26 following a writ petition filed by Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) president and former BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary, challenging the constitutional validity of the appointment of CEM and other members along with six nominated members in the council.

Mohilary, in his writ petition, contended that the formation of the new council violated the rules laid down under the Bodoland Territorial Council (Election) Rules, 2004

BPF had emerged as the single largest party winning 17 of the 40 seats in the two-phase elections to the fourth BTC held this month.

However, the Pramod Boro-led United Peoples’ Party Liberal (which won 12 seats) along with BJP (nine seats) and Gana Suraksha Party (one seat) stitched up a post-poll alliance to stake claim to form the council.

Accepting the coalition’s claim, Governor Jagdish Mukhi asked the alliance to form a new executive council.

Boro took oath as the new CEM of BTC in Kokrajhar on December 15.

The elected members of the alliance were “kept” in a hotel for a few days at Khanapara, to prevent poaching, before being taken to “Shillong/Sohra for a break” prior to oath-taking, and assuming office.

The lone elected Congress member and another elected BPF member joined BJP later.

Boro, on Wednesday, reiterated that his party believed in good governance and would come up with solutions to the problems that the Bodo belt has been grappling with over the past 17 years.

Taking a dig at Mohilary for talking about a regional alliance, Boro said that for the past 15 to 17 years, the BPF had allied with national parties and this change of stand only showed that it believed in the politics of opportunism.

“UPPL cannot be opportunistic. We believe in principled politics. We believe in solving problems. So after proving our majority in the composite floor test tomorrow, along with the administration, we will try to bring in corrective measures and weed out the problems in various departments under the council,” the CEM said.

(Edited by Andre Kongri)

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