SHILLONG:
Congress Member of Parliament from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi, on January 17, said that the signing of the border Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to resolve the areas of differences in the first phase was a “mere photo-op”.
Gogoi pointed out that when the Union Home Minister was in Shillong having a conference with all the region’s Chief Ministers on law and order, the police of Assam and Mizoram were firing at each other at the inter-state border.
“Where else have you seen that the governments of both the states are part of NEDA (North East Democratic Alliance),” the Assam MP said during a press conference in Shillong.
Gogoi pointed at the Mukroh firing incident, and said that despite the Assam and Meghalaya governments signing the MoU, conflicts continue to occur at border areas.
Terming it as highly unfortunate and condemnable, he said that it is the failure of both the state governments and the Chief Ministers.
Meanwhile, Gogoi also said that Sarma “craves TRP”.
“If his name does not come out in the paper regularly he has anxiety. Sometimes he might arm twist his neighbouring Chief Ministers into signing something which they don’t want to,” Gogoi said when asked on the disgruntlement among the people of Meghalaya after the signing of the border Memorandum of Understanding with Assam.
The Assam MP said that the signing of the MoU is just to show that he, as North East Democratic Alliance chief, has managed to do something.
Gogoi urged the Chief Ministers of the other states in the region to be strong and champion their own people and land and not be arm twisted by those sitting in Dispur or Delhi.
On the criticism of Conrad Sangma that the Congress governments in Assam and Meghalaya did not do anything to resolve the decades long border dispute, the Congress MP from Assam said that they might have not resolved it but there was no “bad blood” and distrust that exists today after the signing of the MoU.
“We agreed to disagree. There were strong Chief Ministers on both sides and they always said that this matter needs to be resolved and there was cordial atmosphere but this sense that we are feeling now of bad blood that did not exist and I think that is quite detrimental,” Gogoi said.
He said that this shows the mismanagement of the boundary issue in the northeast which is so complex and it is being treated so lightly by people sitting in Delhi.
Gogoi also said that resolution of the border issue boundary between Assam and Meghalaya cannot be decided by sitting in a private room of Taj Vivanta in Guwahati.
Asked on the setting up of regional committees which went to border areas to seek the opinions of the residents, Shillong Lok Sabha MP, Vincent H. Pala said that it consists of politicians but the boundary involves culture, history and geography.
“A regional committee consisting of a mere MLA or a politician does not know the history, culture. That is possible only if we take the Dolloi, the Syiem, headmen, Nokmas,” Pala said.
According to the Shillong Lok Sabha MP, they will solve the problems of a few politicians.
He said that Rambra-Jyrngam MLA Kimfa Marbaniang was one of the members of the regional committee but he himself was not happy with the signing of the MoU.
“These regional committees never gave the report to the public. They gave it only to the Chief Minister,” Pala said.