Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) was placed under the Governor’s Rule on Monday after the expiry of the five-year term of the tribal council that governs it. Election to the council, scheduled on April 4, had been deferred because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BTAD, comprising four districts of western and northern Assam, falls under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) formed in 2003.
A notification issued by M. Angamuthu, Commissioner and Secretary of the Welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes Department, said Governor Jagdish Mukhi “assumed to himself the administration” of the BTC in exercise of powers conferred by a relevant Section of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
“The decision to impose the Governor’s Rule was taken after the State Election Commission has expressed its inability to conduct the polls to the 40-member BTC due to the prevalent lockdown and need to maintain social distancing,” a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.
Department’s Principal Secretary Rajesh Prasad was designated as the administrator of the BTC to function on behalf of the Governor, the spokesperson said.
The BTC has been ruled by the Bodoland People’s Front since 2003. The party sought extension of the term by six months in view of the COVID-19 crisis but its ally BJP favoured of the Governor’s Rule.