SHILLONG: Opposition leader Mukul Sangma said Assam government is not serious in resolving the border dispute.
Talking to media persons here on Tuesday, Mukul said the rights of people should not be subjected to oppression and suppression as he recalled that Meghalaya government had submitted all the documents about its claims on the disputed areas but then Assam kept on postponing further discussions.
According to Mukul, meetings were fixed at different levels including chief secretary level but Assam kept on postponing the meetings and their excuse does not indicate their commitment to resolve the issue at the earliest.
“Probably after going through the documents, they found that they are not on a strong wicket to justify that these areas of difference are with Assam,” Mukul said while adding that Assam government also did not agree to the idea of asking the Centre to mediate into the matter.
“It is time for both the states to come together, sit and find a long lasting solution,” he said.
Mukul wanted both the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya to discuss about the documentations submitted by the previous Congress-led government in 2012 to Assam government.
The Congress-led MUA government had submitted exhaustive and comprehensive documents where Meghalaya made its claims over the disputed areas with proper documentations and records, he said.
Mukul said it is the responsibility of both the governments to be responsive to the situation and engage in bilateral discussions to find solution to the dispute.
Stating that both Assam and Meghalaya governments in the past had committed to maintain peace in the disputed areas, the former chief minister asked both the states to ensure that there is no fresh settlement along the areas of differences and ensure continuation of developmental programmes by informing the counterparts before initiating any development activities.
The situation along the disputed area escalated once again after Assam police tried to set up a police camp in a land belonging to a resident of Meghalaya.
Following the incident, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has spoken to his Assam counterpart Sarbananda Sonowal on the need to maintain status quo in the border in the wake of growing tension in Umwali, West Khasi Hills.
Conrad is planning to meet Sonowal after the budget session to hold border talks.
Centre key to ending dispute: KHNAM
Miffed at the continuous trend of border flare-ups and recurring tension over the years, Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has said that the state’s boundary dispute with Assam cannot be solved without the intervention of the central government.
“The MDA Government led by Conrad Sangma must know that the inter-state boundary dispute cannot be solved without the intervention of the central government, since Article 3 of the Constitution clearly states that only Parliament has the authority over the inter-state boundary,” KHNAM spokesperson Thomas Passah told The Shillong Times on Tuesday.
Passah said the state government in its election campaign in 2018 had clearly announced that the settlement of inter-state boundary would be its top priority.
“But the government has proved that the hardship of the border villages and underdeveloped conditions of these villages is just a political agenda for them,” he said.
The KHNAM leader further said every time there is violation of status quo, the villagers become the victims and their rights are infringed upon.
The regional party expressed concern over the tension at Umwali in the Langpih area and hoped that the Centre intervenes to find out a solution by holding talks with governments of both the states.
