SHILLONG, Sep 4: Training its guns yet again, opposition Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Meghalaya government of creating misconception and division within the society on the settlement of Assam-Meghalaya border dispute by giving alleged statements that go against the very pact the two states signed in the first phase of border talks.
Opposition Chief Whip George B Lyngdoh, on Sunday, said chaos and confusion prevails as far as the interstate boder settlement process is concerned, adding that there is no confidence on the ground-level that the second phase of talks will go in a manner that will be beneficial to the state.
Lyngdoh alleged that the government is trying to cover up all its ‘mistakes’ that were committed in the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed to in the first phase. “They have tried to bring a policy of divide and rule by trying to create division among society and misconception with misleading statements that go against the very MoU they have signed,” he said.
Pointing out that there were only five criteria on which the villages were to be brought either under Meghalaya or Assam, he said, “If you see the ground reality and read the MoU, within the memorandum itself you can see that the criteria have been bent and even discarded from one area to another.”
“The Government of Meghalaya has surrendered to Assam by not claiming the villages that are beyond the areas of differences belonging to Meghalaya and as claimed by Meghalaya in 2011, this is clearly stated in the MoU and agreed upon which I feel is bulldozed and bullied by Assam,” he said.
In the MoU, according to the opposition chief whip, there are areas which have been surrendered regardless of the non-fulfillment of the criteria laid down. He pointed out that a few section of the society are yet to understand the implications of the settlement process.
“Now with this confusion and mistakes created, there is no more confidence in the citizens that the second phase will go in a manner that will be beneficial to the state,” he said.
Stating that larger chunks of land are at stake in phase two, Lyngdoh said, “The first phase has created so much of chaos and mayhem that people are scared… the government is again in a hurry to settle. There is opposition from adjoining district councils as well. People are apprehensive about the state government trying to hurry and complete the second phase.”
Reminding that when the issue was discussed in the Assembly in March 2022 and the opposition had asked for draft the MoU, he said, “The chief minister had categorically denied and did not give in to the repeated request to circulate atleast the draft MoU for the knowledge of the house.”
“As an opposition, we see the second phase will again be hijacked by Assam which will again dislodge the settlement that are in the areas of differences and we may even lose more lands which do not even belong to the areas of differences,” he added. Stating that unrest prevails in villages which have been affected by the ‘gifting’ of these areas to Assam, he said, “These people are in complete disharmony and unrest as they do not know what the future would be.”
He explained that from Sixth Schedule these lands are now under the purview of National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the rights to the land will also be lost as they will not be under the purview of Meghalaya Land Transfer Act, even as he added that the government will have all rights to acquire these lands and render the people homeless overnight.
