By Our Special Correspondent
Shillong: Breaking his silence over the withdrawal of support by the HSPDP, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said every political party has the right to decide its future.
“My only plea at this time is that we should stop politicising the Langpih issue and allow due procedure to follow, which has already been set in motion,” Dr Sangma said.
The Chief Minister said at a point when so much money is coming in for development into the State it is a pity that efforts are on to derail the implementation process by diverting the attention of the Government and its various line departments.
“If we fail to implement the projects on time we will have to return the money to the Centre. The loss will be that of the people. These schemes are intended to make a difference to the lives of rural poor and this has been my focus since taking over as CM,” Dr Sangma said.
Speaking about the Boundary Commission passed by the Meghalaya Assembly, following the recommendation of the Dr Donkupar Roy Committee constituted to study the dispute at Langpih and other areas, Dr Sangma said, “We had moved the Central Government for setting up a joint Boundary Commission, since in a dispute both parties have to agree. Assam rejected this on the plea that the Chandrachud Committee report was earlier rejected by Meghalaya.”
“When the Langpih issue erupted in 2010, I wanted to visit the place But was told I would have to go via Boko in Assam since there is no road connectivity between Nongstoin and Langpih. It would have been foolish to visit Langpih via Assam at that time. So we requisitioned helicopters and visited Langpih with the officials,” Dr Mukul said
After seeing the strategic location of Langpih, Dr Sangma said he promised on the spot to sanction the road project which is now in an advanced stage of implementation. “Now people can visit Langpih via Nongstoin. Some of my colleagues tell me that at one time they had to walk for three hours to reach Langpih. So what were the elected representatives doing for 40 years? Is it fair to politicise the issue now only because of the impending elections,” the chief minister asked.
Questioning the logic of those who say that Meghalaya should take unilateral decision and stop engaging with Assam, Dr Sangma said, “How is that possible in a boundary dispute? How can you not talk to the other side? That is the only way we can resolve the issue. “
Following the Langpih imbroglio, Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram had facilitated a meeting between the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya and other senior ministers and officials to work out a solution to the border issue.
“At the meeting, Assam Revenue Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma aggressively asked us to produce key documents. We did not have them at the time. Mr Hopingstone Lyngdoh was also present at the meeting.” Dr Sangma informed.
“Meghalaya was asked to come up with documents in two months. I entrusted Mr KS Kropha to put together all papers, documents, maps etc so we can buttress our claims. This was done in 45 days. The papers were presented to the Cabinet and still found inadequate so another process followed for procuring more documents. Now we have enough evidence to substantiate our claims,” Dr Sangma informed. He said the documents were presented to Assam in May this year at the Chief Secretary level meeting.
Asserting that his Government has done not been resting its case on Langpih, Dr Sangma said, “I strongly contest those who accuse this Government of not doing anything on the border dispute. In my time the police station at Langpih has been reinforced and we have been pursuing the matter assiduously,” a visibly agitated Dr Mukul said. Asked if Hopingstone Lyngdoh had stated the reason for the exit of the party from the MUA, the Chief Minister said he met the HSPDP chief after their party meeting but he refused to comment on the border issue.