Assam CM dumps demand for border pact revisit
HT Bureau
SHILLONG, April 6: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday announced that the second phase of border talks for resolving the remaining six areas of difference will start in June-July.
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“We hope to start discussion for the other six (areas of difference) also sometime around June and July,” Sarma told reporters.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Meghalaya and Assam to end the dispute in 6 of the 12 areas of difference.
He said that now the Survey of India has already started working on the six areas which have been resolved between the two states.
“According to our MoU they (Survey of India) will put border pillars and thereafter the entire agreement will be formalised,” Sarma said.
On the Opposition’s demand to revisit the border agreement, the Assam chief minister, however, said the two states should not reopen the issue.
“Now that agreement has sealed and signed, there is a demand from Assam Opposition also to revisit but I have answered in the Assembly that after all these are lands belonging to India and as a brother and a sister, we have signed an agreement and we have come to a closure so far as that six sites are concerned so we should not reopen the issue,” he maintained.
Asked that the border residents are not happy with the decision of the two states, Sarma said, “You cannot have happiness out of every agreement, the only thing is that the country should be happy. There will be individuals who will be unhappy but the nation should be happy. That should be our motto.”
Whether the Opposition is politicising the issue, the Assam CM however refused to comment anything on the Opposition party in Meghalaya and said, “Because this is the duty of the Meghalaya chief minister to handle any congratulations or criticisms but so far as Assam is concerned we have replied all the criticism in Assembly and by and large Assam civil societies are backing the government completely.”
On the other hand, Sarma admitted that the second phase of border talks will be very tough.
“That second phase is the most complicated and most contested area as it has Langpih, Block I & II,” he said.
Stating that a goodwill has been created between Assam and Meghalaya, Sarma said, “Now at least both the governments and citizens of Assam and Meghalaya are not talking in terms of conflict they are talking in terms of resolution of conflict so banking on whatever we have in the first phase will start dialogue for the second phase and I have confident that at some point of time we will have resolution on the six also but how and when it will end it is difficult to predict right now,” the Assam CM added.
