SHILLONG, April 27: Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said there is no point revisiting the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the Assam government as it will undermine the efforts of the two states to resolve the boundary disputes in six of the 12 sectors.
He clarified that all stakeholders were consulted and the agreement was signed in the best interest of the people of the state.
Reacting to the recent statements of some political leaders, Sangma said there may be dissent with the steps taken by the government but it should not be political and personal in nature.
He further said as the border dispute dwelt on documents and historical facts for the past many decades but led to nowhere, his government adopted a different approach and finally, it is leading to the right path.
Expressing optimism that the two states will be able to demarcate the geographical boundary once the second phase of talks is over, the CM said all the MDA components are part of this decision but only some individuals from certain political parties are opposing the pact.
He asked political leaders not to make personal attacks or play politics on the matter. He recalled the government had held consultations with almost all traditional institutions, including the District Councils, while the issue was being taken up with Assam. He said issues as complicated as boundary dispute cannot be resolved just by putting documents on the table.
The CM said if the traditional institutions wish to move the court, they can do so but the state government had taken the step keeping in mind the interest of the people.
The CM rubbished the allegation of manipulation in the border pact saying there may have been a mistake from the then government in 2011 when many villages were left out.
“There is a certain village the then government had mentioned as disputed but in the map they drew, it was shown in Assam,” Sangma said.
He said there are a lot of talks going on about 18.6 sq km of land being given to Assam but the size of lands which the two states will get will be determined once the boundary line is drawn.
“A large portion of this is under Gizang Reserve Forest and it was already in Assam and there is no public habitation,” he said.
On the announcement by the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) that it will move the court challenging the MoU, Sangma said, “Let me inform those individuals who are making such statements today that the NPP MDCs are not part of the statements. The individual who made the statement was very much part of the discussion.”
Sangma said the members and ministers of those parties were also present when the MoU was being signed, and that the party has no differences on the issue.
“Why are you now trying to create a political situation out of this? I am not saying party or organization or the autonomous body but one individual,” he said, adding, “I must say that our party and MDCs and members are fully committed to the decision taken by the NPP.”
Referring to statements such as the NPP has cheated the people of the state, he said, “If we had cheated the people of the state, people would not be leaving their party and joining our party. They need to question themselves and see what they are doing or what they have done.”
Quoting a line form a movie ‘What we do today will echo in eternity’, he said, “Twenty to 30 years from today, when I, my cabinet colleagues and other people in the party would look back and say we missed that opportunity to have made a difference in the people’s lives by resolving that issue when we knew we could do it but we didn’t, I think you would have such a guilty conscience.”
“It’s not an easy decision. For 50 years, nobody dared touch it because we know the challenges but we remember that what we do today will echo in eternity. Twenty years from now, when we will look back, we will be satisfied and say, yes we did it or we will say why we did not do it. I would choose the first one and say yes, we took that decision and moved forward,” Sangma said.
He lashed out at former CM Mukul Sangma stating the latter is visiting areas for political gain.
“It is he who has cheated the people, not the NPP. He cheated the people and left out the people of the state. Don’t blame NPP,” the CM said.
He further said the list of villages put for discussions and debates was prepared in 2011 by the former CM.
“He mentioned some villages saying we left out them. I want to tell him and all of you that it is not us but Dr Mukul who left out the villages in 2011,” Sangma said.
NPP state president, WR Kharlukhi said the party remains committed to the decision it took to resolve the interstate border dispute and now it was up to the coalition partners to take a stand on the issue.
“We did not reach this stage alone. We are doing things together and now my party will stick to what we have done,” Kharlukhi said while reacting to the differences cropping up among the coalition partners over the MoU.
The MDA coalition partners like the UDP, PDF and KHNAM have demanded a revisit of the areas where resentment has surfaced after the interstate boundary pact was inked.
“The state comprises of 36 lakh people. Let them decide what is right or wrong,” he added.
