Kokrajhar, March 1: Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief Hagrama Mohilary rushed to Delhi today to meet Union finance minister Arun Jaitley to clear the "confusion" over allocation of Rs 50 crore for the council in the Union budget, which is way below Rs 1,000 crore, that the BJP had promised the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF) to tie up with the party for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi was quick to point out that the BJP has "insulted the Bodos" by allocating such a small amount for the BTC in the budget. "It's good that Mohilary has been cheated by the BJP," Gogoi said, seeming to relish the situation the Bodo leader found himself in. The Mohilary-led BPF had ended its 13-year alliance with the ruling Congress in Assam to ally with the BJP. "I will not accept him (Mohilary) if he returns to me now," Gogoi said.

Former Rajya Sabha MP and president of the nascent United Peoples Party (UPP), Urkhao Gwra Brahma, did not the let the opportunity go after the BPF - the two parties are expected to be the key contestants in the Bodo areas - pass up either. Echoing Gogoi, he said the Rs 50 crore allocation was "humiliating and insulting" to the people of Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) that is ruled by the BPF. The BTAD comprises four districts.

"BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary had claimed that Rs 1,000 crore would be sanctioned to BTC in this budget but, instead, got only a pittance. The BPF was trying to woo voters by making false promises. Now it has been proved to be totally false and only a misleading campaign," he said. The UPP is now likely to tie up with the Congress.

Rajya Sabha MP and BPF leader Biswajit Daimary confirmed that Mohilary would meet Jaitley. "There is some confusion over the budget allocation. The meeting is aimed to clear the air," he said.

The Union budget 2016-17 has made a provision of Rs 100 crore for the three 6th Schedule Councils in the state - Rs 50 crore to BTC, Rs 30 crore to Karbi Anglong Autonomous District Council and Rs 20 crore to North Cachar Hills Autonomous District Council under the head Special Development Packages for the region.

Senior BPF leader and Kokrajhar East MLA Pramila Rani Brahma, however, interpreted the "Rs 50 crore allocation" as an addition to the promised Rs 1,000 crore special package. "The Centre had earlier asked the BTC administration to submit development proposals from the promised Rs 1,000-crore package and the Council had submitted proposals amounting to Rs 421 crore. So, I believe the Rs 50 crore is additional," she said.

The BPF had asked for a Rs 1,000-crore central package for the development of the backward BTAD. The Rs 1,000- crore special package was one of the main conditions the BPF had held out for supporting the BJP and entering into an alliance with the party.

BJP national president Amit Shah, during his visit to Kokrajhar on February 10, had promised more than Rs 1,000 crore for development of the BTAD. "You have asked for Rs 1,000 crore, but the Centre will give you more than that for the development of this part of the region," Shah had grandly said.

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