SHILLONG:
Leader of Opposition and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) legislator Mukul Sangma on Saturday said that when he was the chief minister he never sat on the Meghalaya-Assam boundary dispute as being alleged by the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government.
“Assam never got back to us after getting the documentation because they knew that I wouldn’t surrendering land to Assam,” Sangma said.
According to him, the Assam government wanted to resolve the boundary issue when Conrad K Sangma is the chief minister.
He also said that the AITC will not accept the border MoU.
“When people are not accepting it you cannot impose, you cannot be a dictator,” Sangma said.
He said that in the past the Survey of India had demarcated the boundary of Meghalaya but the people of the state did not accept it and therefore the areas of difference continued to exist.
The AITC leader also flagged another concern of Assam weaning away the border residents of Meghalaya to their state through developmental projects.
“They are also issuing pattas for lands that do not fall in Assam; these are lands which are well within the areas of our Himas. That is how the additional areas of difference are being created. That has to be prevented,” Sangma said.
He also said that the MDA government got duped by Assam and agreed to give those areas which are not part of the disputed areas.
He also said that the Meghalaya government was talking about the “give and take” policy, but they have given away to Assam whatever that was not theirs.