SHILLONG, March 12: Senior BJP leader, AL Hek on Saturday said mutual consent of the border residents, and not any “piecemeal” approach, will help resolve the state’s border disputes with Assam.
He said solution will not come based on what the two governments agree but on the mutual consent of the border residents of the two states.
He was reacting to the resentment expressed by the locals of some villages that are likely to go to Assam post-settlement.
Hek said he does neither appreciate nor believe the two states can resolve the problem from the comfort of their respective secretariats as people on the ground must also agree to what they decide.
“The dispute has to be resolved for once and all. It cannot be resolved in a piecemeal manner as it will go to Parliament, followed by necessary amendment. They cannot do it half now and half later. Therefore, it has to be done in one go,” the BJP leader insisted.
On the demand that the memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed by the two states, should be made public, he said the MoU is a mutual understanding to carry on the survey work and he has no issues with it. He said the final agreement is different. “I do not question their work if they are doing it dedicatedly but I want that it is done in totality.”