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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Opposition parties oppose formula to solve Assam-Meghalaya border row

Earlier, Congress, the principal opposition party in the state, had called for more discussion on the matter in the Assembly.

GUWAHATI:

Hours after chief ministers of both Assam and Meghalaya met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and briefed him on the proposed resolution between the two states to end the decades-long border tussle, opposition parties in Assam have come down heavily on the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led Bharatiya Janata Party government.

Slamming the government’s decision to give away “almost half of the land” to Meghalaya, Akhil Gogoi, president of Raijor Dal (RD), in an open letter to the people of Assam, questioned whether a state government can leave its lawful land in favour of another state. Echoing the same, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief, Lurinjyoti Gogoi, called the decision “anti-people” and asserted that the decision has neglected public opinion.

“The Constitution gives power only to the Parliament to alter the boundaries of a state. With no endorsement by Parliament, how can the Assam government, on its own, give away land?” asked Akhil.

Considering Assam has border disputes with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram, Akhil asked whether the government will adopt the same strategy in every case.

“Assam has not encroached on any land of the neighbouring states. Instead, it is the other states which have encroached on our land in every case. How can we give away our own Constitutional land. Is it justified?” asked the RD president.

Terming the Assam government’s move to hand over land to Meghalaya as a “one-sided, ambitious decision” by chief minister Sarma, Lurinjyoti said, “There is no harm in solving border disputes, but it should not be done by breaking Constitutional norms. Such a crucial decision cannot be taken without the consent of the people of the disputed places.”

He claimed that the government is deciding to give away land to Meghalaya “in a hurry as per the political instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah”.

Earlier, Congress, the principal opposition party in the state, had called for more discussion on the matter in the Assembly.

Notably, post the two rounds of talks between Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma to resolve the vexed issue in a phased manner, the Assam cabinet had, on January 19, approved the recommendations of the regional committees and gave 18.28 sq km to Meghalaya, out of 36.79 sq km of the disputed area.

ALSO READ: https://themeghalayan.com/border-row-meghalaya-assam-cms-brief-amit-shah-on-proposed-resolution/

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