A delegation of Opposition party leaders visited arson-hit Kheroni in West Karbi Anglong district on Tuesday to take stock of the situation and submit a fact-finding report to the governor on Wednesday.

The delegation, led by leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, comprised 10 Congress MLAs and leaders of the Assam Jatiya Parishad, Raijor Dal, CPM, CPI, CPIML and All Party Hills Leaders’ Conference (APHLC).

“Our visit lasted around five hours. We visited the arson-hit Kheroni market, the houses of the two deceased youth. We spoke to the affected Karbi and non-tribal people to get a sense of what triggered the unrest,” Saikia said, appealing for calm and peace.

According to him, their findings suggest that the “inability” of the BJP-led Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) and the state government “to act in time to address the grievances of the tribal Karbi people” resulted in the violence in which two youths were killed and at least 173 security personnel were injured, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders in both Karbi Anglong districts and the suspension of Internet.

The delegation will meet the governor in Guwahati on Wednesday and submit its reports.

The KAAC area falls under the Sixth Schedule.

Both prohibitory orders and suspension of the internet have been lifted. There is, however, heavy deployment of security personnel in the affected district.

Condemnation

The Guwahati-based Sustha Samaj Bikash Chakra (SSBC) issued a statement on Karbi Anglong and the Nalbari developments.

The SSBC president, Apurba Kumar Baruah, said in a statement on Tuesday: “The slogan ‘Karbi Chinese Go Back’ raised in Karbi Anglong, targeting indigenous Karbis in the Kheroni area and the dastardly attacks on Christmas celebrations by Bajrang Dal members in Nalbari, have laid bare the utter failure of the current government to protect the rights of the Indigenous Peoples of Karbi Anglong and also the Constitutional rights of the citizens at Nalbari.”

The SSBC, a registered trust comprising intellectuals and social activists, strongly condemned the “growing communalism in Assam under the political legitimacy and impunity provided by the ruling BJP”.