SHILLONG, Sep 7: The United Democratic Party (UDP) on Wednesday said the Meghalaya government should revisit its pact with Assam for resolving the first six of the 12 disputed sectors along the interstate border.
“The state government should revisit those areas where there is opposition from the people. We need to listen to the voices of the villagers residing along the border and the stakeholders who are unhappy with the agreement between the two states,” UDP general secretary, Jemino Mawthoh told some reporters.
He said the ability of the state government to resolve the disagreement in certain pockets in these six areas of differences will lay a strong base for the negotiations on the remaining six disputed sectors taken up in the second phase of talks.
Mawthoh advised the state government not to be adamant about not reviewing the memorandum of understanding. Noting that Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma has been rigid about the MoU, he said: “The CM will be answerable for failing to respect the sentiments of the people.”
Sangma had earlier said it was impossible to change the MoU. His assertion was a body blow to pressure groups and border residents demanding a redrafting of the pact he had signed with his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 29.
Meanwhile, the Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) slammed the National People’s Party for its arrogant stand on the boundary settlement.
Reacting to a statement of NPP state president WR Kharlukhi, HYC general secretary Roy Kupar Synrem said he (Kharlukhi) should know that the border residents or affected Himas are not against any resolution of the disputes but are opposed to the manner in which the settlement was arrived at.
“Whoever does not want to solve the border issue can vote for the opposition and whoever wants to solve it can vote for us. We don’t want the affected people to suffer forever,” Kharlukhi said some time ago.
“This is an irony because the NPP, after selling Meghalaya, is now trying to polarise people on the border settlement issue,” Synrem said, maintaining that the NPP-led government did not take the main stakeholders – Hima Khasi and the district councils – into confidence before striking the deal with Assam.
He said Sangma had no right to give away the land without the consent of the rightful owners.
“It is evident from the documents we have in our possession and reports of the regional committees that their recommendations were not taken into consideration while signing the MoU,” he said.
This led to Meghalaya losing about 18 sq. km of land to Assam in the first phase of the boundary talks, he added.
Synrem said the NPP acted like an absolute owner of the land and took a unilateral decision.
“This is the reason why entire Meghalaya is against the MoU, as evident from the protests against it to the point that the Himas had to approach the Supreme Court seeking justice,” he said.
The HYC general secretary further said the NPP’s action proved that it has “absolutely no regard” for the people and their sentiments.
“Understanding their failure to address the border issue aptly, the NPP is now trying to defend the shoddy deal with the excuse of timely resolution. They fail to understand that the repercussions of this deal will haunt Meghalaya for generations to come,” he said.
