GUWAHATI, August 4: Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga has expressed optimism over Thursday’s ministerial dialogue on the inter-state boundary row with Assam, saying that he expected significant progress towards the solution of the long-pending issue.
Responding to a letter by frontline pressure group from Assam, Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba-Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), seeking political solution to the vexed boundary issue, Zoramthanga said that representatives from the Assam government led by a senior minister will meet representatives of the Mizoram government led by senior minister on Thursday.
“I am sure important steps will be achieved for a solution to the border problem,” the chief minister said.
“The legacy of the ‘Seven Sisters’ is a matter of pride for the Northeast. The recent border clash has put a stigma on this age-old peaceful relation existing among the people of the two states,” the AJYCP stated in the letter to the Mizoram chief minister.
“Problems will exist and solutions can also be found. All such political issues should be solved politically. You, being a senior political figure, having a long revolutionary background, are mature enough to identify those elements who are friends and enemies of the Northeast,” it stated.
“We request you and your Assam counterpart to take leadership in creating a peaceful environment to promote unity and progress in the Northeast,” the AJYCP letter to Zoramthanga read.
Amid the de-escalation process along the inter-state boundary, the Assam government decided to send two Cabinet ministers – Atul Bora and Ashok Singhal – to Aizawl for holding talks on the long-standing border dispute on August 5.
“In aid of an early amicable resolution, I am sending my Cabinet colleagues, Atul Bora and Ashok Singhal, to Aizawl on August 5, 2021, for a meaningful dialogue. Assam stands committed to ensuring peace on its borders, paving the way for a peaceful and developed Northeast,” Sarma said on Monday.
The decision came as a part of the border tension de-escalation process following the Centre’s intervention, with both states directing their police to withdraw cases registered in connection with the July 26 firing on the inter-state border.