From Our Correspondent
Guwahati : As chances of signing of a Naga peace accord getting brighter, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday reiterated his stiff opposition to any proposal of redrawing of inter-state boundaries to include Naga-inhabited areas within Assam into a ‘greater Nagalim’.
He added that he though would hail a peace treaty between the government of India and the Naga militant outfits, he would not budge on territorial integrity of his State.
Gogoi said, “I am very happy that the stage for signing a Naga peace accord has been set. But this has to be done without redrawing of inter-state boundaries.” He added that the UPA government at the Centre has made it clear, as far as Gogoi is concerned, that there will be no territorial integration of Naga-inhabited areas of neighbouring states.
When asked if the Centre has sought his opinion while finalising a peace pact with the Naga rebel groups, Gogoi said no such request has been received yet and added that since Assam was in no way involved in the pact, it was unlikely for the government of India to seek Assam’s views.
Gogoi accused the erstwhile BJP-led NDA government in the Centre and AGP governments in the State of trying to compromise the territorial integrity of the State while in power.
“These parties wanted to extend NSCN ceasefire to Assam and Manipur. It was me and Ibobi Singh (Manipur Chief Minister) who opposed it tooth and nail and ensured our states’ territorial integrity,” Gogoi added.
Meanwhile, Assam government will undertake a survey and analysis of the unemployment situation in the state, which has been accorded top priority along with economic development, and publish the detailed report by April next year.
Gogoi said a commissionerate or similar structure would be set up by the state government to study the unemployment scenario in details.
“It will study how serious the unemployment situation is and how it can be solved. How much we have achieved in the last 10 years will also be analysed,” he said.
The chief minister said the term ‘unemployment’ would be analysed in a wider perspective and would include economic parameters also.
“If farmers’ income has gone down, though they are not included in unemployed category, that would also be studied,” he said, citing an example of how inclusive the proposed study would be.
The exact parameters and modalities will be worked out and the document or report would be expected to be released by April next year, coinciding with the Assamese New Year, Gogoi added.
He said his government viewed unemployment and economic development as topmost priority areas, along with the core sectors like health and education.
“Economic development has been the priority in our election manifestoes since 2001,” he pointed.