The preventive measures against COVID19 could not be taken in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) region due to the restrictions of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), said Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary.
On Sunday, Daimary wrote a letter to Alok Kumar, the Assam state election commissioner, drawing his immediate attention and pleading for relaxing the MCC restrictions in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD).
“From the time of the declaration of the BTC election, the BTC authority couldn’t take any decision to take the measure for the protection of the Coronavirus (COVID19) which is financially involved,” said Daimary.
“Even ministers, MLAs, political leaders are also not allowed to announce any financial assistance/payments out of discretionary fund and for the same. That is why the BTC government is not being able to take steps to fight with Coronavirus /COVID-19,” he added.
Daimary further wrote: “15,000 migrant workers and people living outside BTC are coming back since March 2020.”
“So, there is a possibility of transmission of virus from an already infected person. Thus, if that happens it will be meaningless to whatever the Assam government has done to tackle the virus,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
The letter also said: “It is not possible to ask permission and clarification on every works and every moment during this emergency period.”
Daimary also prayed to the Assam state election commissioner: “Allow us to take all the preventive measures so that protection of Coronavirus in BTC can be done in the line of the other parts of Assam.”
The BTC election was scheduled to be held on April 4 and the process of nominations also started.
However, due to the sudden outbreak of Coronavirus in the nation, it was postponed for an indefinite period by the Assam state election commissioner on March 20.