‘MoU wasn’t discussed in detail at MDA meeting’

SHILLONG, May 15: Hills State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) chief, KP Pangniang on Sunday said the memorandum of understanding (MoU) – signed between Meghalaya and Assam towards resolving their boundary disputes in six of the 12 areas – was not discussed at length during the recent Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) coordination committee meeting.
“Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma briefed the allies on the MoU. He also told us that Meghalaya is gaining from this boundary agreement,” Pangniang told journalists on Sunday.
He said while they heard the views of the government, they would like to get a concrete report from the villages which are unhappy with the agreement.
“We would want to take a balanced stand on this issue,” he said.
The HSPDP supremo said they did not get an opportunity to discuss the MoU during the meeting as the discussion largely revolved around the Gaming Act and the demand of the ad hoc teachers.
“But we were assured by the CM that another MDA meeting will be convened for a discussion only on the MoU,” Pangniang said.
Earlier, Sangma had said none of the MDA constituents suggested a review of the MoU.
“The coalition partners had some concerns about the boundary issue. We have always clarified to them even at unofficial level and nobody spoke about revisiting the MoU,” the CM had told reporters after chairing the MDA coordination committee meeting.