Bodo groups call off hunger strike for Bodoland

The All-Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and other groups today called off their indefinite hunger strike demanding a separate Bodoland after the Assam Home and Political Department assured them of holding tripartite talks on the issue.
On March 10, ABSU members, accompanied by NDFB(P) and the Peoples Joint Action Committee for Bodoland Movement (PJACBM), started an indefinite hunger strike at the Kokrajhar Government High School premises demanding Bodoland.
They broke their hunger strike on the sixth day in the presence of Kokrajhar district Deputy Commissioner (DC), Superintendent of Police and Vice-Chancellor of Bodoland University.
A letter from the state Home and Political Department was sent to the agitators through the Kokrajhar DC with an assurance of initiating tripartite talks at the political level before April 14 next, sources said.

The letter said the state government had taken up the issue with the union government of tripartite talks at the political level with the central and Assam governments, and the ABSU and PJACBM.
ABSU president Pramod Boro said, "We express our gratitude to the government for the letter, but everything will depend on its sincerity. The government should not take the talks as a game. We are determined and there will be no compromise on our demand. We will not tolerate any conspiracy.