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    Ulfa faction, farmers body oppose Bodo land transfer to Baba Ramdev's trust

    Synopsis

    In a statement issue to the media on Monday, Ulfa chairman Dr Abhijit Asom said there was an ulterior motive in Ramdev seeking such a large tract of land.

    ET Bureau
    GUWAHATI: The Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF)’s has invited the ire of anti-dialogue faction of the Ulfa and the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) for allotting 3,800 hectares to Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Trust. The BPF is an ally of the BJP in the state.

    In a statement issue to the media on Monday, Ulfa chairman Dr Abhijit Asom said there was an ulterior motive in Ramdev seeking such a large tract of land. “We are not against yogic exercise, which leads to good health. But as a Muslim does not need any specific location to offer his prayer, there is no need for any specific location for practicing Indian yoga.

    The yoga guru actually wants to make money from the land by expanding his Ayurvedic medicine business to Assam,” the statement said.

    The KMSS, known for its mass movement programmes against the land transfer policy, decried the move of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), a sixth scheduled area under the Constitution, to grant land to the trust.

    KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi told ET, “Ramdev wants to set up a dairy in the vast land. Out of 3,800 hectares, only 400 hectares are without any habitation and the rest is occupied. We will continue protesting against the allotment.” Political analysts believe that the issue will be the Sonowal’s government first political test in the state.

    Land transfer norms pose a contentious issue in Assam after the previous Congress government changed the rules to allow land transfer and non-agricultural activity in agricultural land if no farming activity were taking place.

    Paresh Baruah, the self-styled commander in chief of the Ulfa faction, has appealed Bodo leader Hangrama Mohilary a rebel-turned-politician to reconsider its decision of giving land to the trust. Ramdev is scheduled to attend Sonowal’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.


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