The Assam Special Police Officers’ (SPOs) Welfare Society announced on Thursday in a Press meet held in Guwahati that they are going to stage a protest at Dispur Last Gate area on September 25 next when the Assembly is in session demanding permanent recruitment of around 850 SPOs across the State.
The Society’s General Secretary Mrityunjay Bora told media persons, “The SPOs have been protesting since the Tarun Gogoi-led Congress Government was in power demanding permanent recruitment and regularisation of services. But, the powers that be in Dispur are really not bothered whatever happens to us.”
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Lashing out at the Government for making “false” promises, Das said, “In 2015, the then Tarun Gogoi Government had not regularised the services of hundreds of SPOs but had promised to appoint them in the 3rd Assam Industrial Security Force (AISF). But, till date, promises remain mere promises with even the Sonowal Government preferring to be in a ‘deep slumber’ over the issue.”
Coming down heavily on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) much-hyped slogan ‘parivartan sarkar’, Bora said, “We have not seen any perceptible difference between the working nature of the previous Government and the present Government. Things remain as it is.”
Das also said that though the Kamrup (Metro) Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Pulak Mahanta assured them that the Assam Chief Minister (CM) Sarbananda Sonowal would give them an audience on April 23 last, but, till date, the “meeting has not happened”. Das also lamented that several attempts to meet the CM proved to be “futile”.
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Talking about the recruitment in 2008, Das informed that the then Congress Government recruited around 1,100 SPOs in militancy-hit Dima Hasao, Kokrajhar and Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) – “In 2010, the then Tarun Gogoi Government had recruited around 1,000 surrendered rebels of Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) in Dima Hasao district as SPOs whose jobs are yet to be regularised.”