Assam CM Gogoi rejects division of state - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday ruled out further division of the state. Addressing the state assembly, Gogoi said: " Not only Bodoland, Ujani Assam Ahoms are demanding, Kamtapur, they are demanding, N C Hills is demanding, its not new. But our case is we are not in favour of splitting the state," Gogoi said. The government has given top-most priority to settling the problems of the people living in those areas, besides taking up development activities on a massive scale," he added. The Centre's decision to initiate moves to grant statehood to the Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh has revived old statehood demands of Bodoland. The Dimasas have also taken up arms for separate statehood demanding Dimaraji. According to Bodoland People's Front leader K Basumurthy: "If government could sanction separate state to Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chattisgarh and now Telangana, then in the same line, Bodoland separate state demand has been a long standing demand." "It's genuine economically, socially, politically, educationally, so that we become more advanced. Hence, it's an urgent matter for Bodo people," he added. Meanwhile, the pro talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom felt that in Assam every tribe and ethnicity has raised demands for their own aspirations. It also expressed fear that if all demands are taken into account, Assam may not exist. The ULFA faction also demanded for the regional federation.