Assam ethnic strife: Bodoland violence a blot on face of nation, says PM

Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the ethnic violence in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts was a blot on the face of the nation even as he assured a probe into it.

“This is a very unfortunate incident. It is a blot on the face of the nation,” the prime minister told journalists at a relief camp in Kokrajhar. He was flanked by the state’s chief minister Tarun Gogoi.

Singh visited a couple of relief camps and was ‘saddened’ to see the pain and suffering of the affected. The violence has claimed 52 lives while many others have been injured. It also rendered over 3 lakh people homeless.

Asked if the Centre will order an investigation into the violence, the prime minister said, “There will be a probe into it.”

“We must address the causes of the conflict. If the conflict has been instigated, the guilty must be punished,” he told journalists at a press conference later.

Singh said the central government would work closely with the state government to find out the causes behind the conflict. His assertion came amidst allegations of a political conspiracy behind the violence.

“The ethnic conflict which occurred is unacceptable and must come to a stop. We are one people and one nation and we must live together as such. We must restore peace and calm throughout the area,” he said.

Sigh said the government would work to restore normalcy to areas.

He announced that Centre would provide Rs300 crore for relief and rehabilitation of the affected areas. He also announced Rs2 lakh to the kin of those killed and Rs50,000 each to the seriously injured.