Kokrajhar (Assam) [India], March 16 (ANI): Pramod Boro, Chief Executive Member of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), on Sunday emphasised that peace was the way to achieve development and progress.

Talking about their decision to remove gun culture, Boro said that the policy of the council focused on concluding the underground movement to bring back people from the Bodo community into the mainstream.

He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for being considerate and expressing sympathy regarding the same while focusing on resolving these issues.

'Without peace, we cannot think of development. Without peace, we cannot think of progress. So that's why it was our decision and also the policy that we decided to remove the gun culture and also the underground movement of our brothers who were in the designated camp to bring them back to normalcy and also in the mainstream. So we worked very hard, and also we got all kinds of consideration and sympathy from the home minister, and the prime minister also considered all these issues that need to be resolved,' Boro told ANI.

His remarks come as Amit Shah attended a public gathering on the fourth and final day of the 57th Annual Conference of the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) at Bodofa Fwthar, Dotma, in Assam's Kokrajhar.

Addressing the 57th annual conference of ABSU, Shah reflected on the peace established in Bodoland since the signing of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) Peace Agreement in 2020 and assured that the Central government would implement 100 per cent conditions of the agreement to establish peace in the region.

Shah stated that despite initial scepticism from the Congress party, the Assam government and the Centre have implemented approximately 82 per cent of the agreement's conditions.

'This event is the message of the peace established in Bodoland. I still remember January 27, 2020, when the BTR (Bodoland Territorial Region) Peace Agreement was signed. Congress party used to mock me that there would never be peace in Bodoland and that the agreement would become a joke, but, today, the Assam government and Centre has implemented almost 82 per cent conditions of this agreement,' Shah said.

'The Modi government will implement 100 per cent of the agreement conditions in the next two years. After that, there will be a long-lasting peace in the BTR area,' he added.

The Home Minister further stated that under the provisions of the agreement, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA Act) was removed from the entire Bodoland region on April 1, 2022. Shah highlighted the progress and development the region has made since the signing of the peace accord.

The four-day conference, concluded today, has remained a crucial platform for fostering academic excellence, leadership, and cultural identity. (ANI)