GUWAHATI, August 3: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has accused the BJP governments at the Centre and state of “mishandling border issues and failing to maintain law and order.”
The Opposition party further slammed the recent statement of the BJP on the Assam-Mizoram border issue, accusing the Congress of “fuelling violence by inciting statements.”
Terming the BJP statement as “irresponsible”, APCC working president, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha and All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) president and former MP, Sushmita Dev came down heavily on the the BJP government for allegedly “mishandling border issues and failing to maintain law and order.”
“The fact that the Assam and Mizoram police resorted to violent clashes the very next day of meeting the Union home minister showed how seriously the northeastern chief ministers had treated that meeting. An exponent of divisive politics, it is rather BJP which is fueling hatred and infighting in Northeast states,” a statement by APCC issued here on Tuesday said.
Giving reference to the BJP leadership’s statement that “external forces” were involved (in the border violence), the APCC demanded that if this was true, then it was a matter of great concern.
“The Union home minister of India is answerable for this intelligence lapse. We demand a judicial inquiry into the matter,” it said.
Alleging that the North East Democratic Alliance has totally failed, AIMC president Dev blamed Assam chief minister and NEDA convenor, Himanta Biswa Sarma for the “deteriorating relationship between the Northeast states.”
“The BJP leadership’s concern for Northeast India is proved from the fact that both the Prime Minister and home minister have refrained from making any public statement for the people of Northeast India in this critical time,” the APCC statement said.
The Congress leaders also condemned the “lacklustre response of the Assam government and demanded a public apology from the Assam chief minister for his “highly irresponsible statement (during a media conference in Silchar) to surrender Barak Valley and even the area up to Guwahati and Nalbari (to Mizoram if the Centre directed it to).”
The APCC leadership further accused the BJP leadership that it was making such hollow statements to cover up their own lapses, failure to resolve border disputes and to create confusion among people for their parochial political motive.
“The fact remains that the Assam government filed FIRs against the murder of six policemen and the people of Assam still need to know who is responsible directly and indirectly for these deaths,” it stated.
IANS