Bodo MP claims massive violence in Assam by Bangla migrants

NEW DELHI: Leaning on the allegations made by Mr S K Bwismuthiary, independent MP from Kokrajhar, on the recent communal violence in central Assam, BJP and Left parties on Monday sought to turn the heat on the Congress by seeking a statement on the issue from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Egged on by the Opposition bloc, the Bodo MP, who was permitted by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to raise the issue during Question Hour, gave a forceful and detailed account of the violence that rocked parts of Assam recently.

Mr Bwismuthiary claimed there was `large-scale violence��� against ethnic Bodo and Garo tribes, Bengalis and Biharis by ���illegal Bangladeshi immigrants��� in Bodo-dominated areas of Udalguri and Darrang districts. He said the ferocity of the attack, which claimed the lives of several innocent people, had unnerved him. He also claimed ���pro-Pakistani��� and ���jihadi��� elements masterminded the attacks, and alleged they cocked a snook at the Indian establishment by hoisting Pakistani and Bangladeshi flags.

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, representing Assam in the Rajya Sabha, the speech was enough fodder for BJP MPs to seek a statement from the PM.

The independent MP stunned the House by alleging that two Bodo women were gang-raped during the course of the mayhem.
CPM leader Mohammed Salim wanted the prime minister to make a statement, saying the violence in Assam was being perpetrated in the name of religion leading to killings and forcing lakhs of people to take shelter in relief camps.
Mr Bwismuthiary, who also sought a CBI probe into the incident, finally heeded to requests by some Congress members to return to his seat from the well.

The BJP, while speaking to mediapersons later in the day, sought to corner the UPA government on the issue. ``The prime minister is an MP from Assam. But displaying complete insensitivity, he, rather than assuaging the members��� feelings by making a statement, left the House abruptly,������ Ms Sushma Swaraj alleged.