Assam Minister claims border area residents are being 'pressured' to 'choose' Meghalaya
- Dec 22, 2021,
- Updated Dec 22, 2021, 1:16 AM IST
GUWAHATI: Atul Bora, Assam's Border Areas Development Minister, today said that there are reports of "pressure" on people in disputed border areas along Meghalaya in Assam's Kamrup (Rural) district to choose the neighbouring state.
Boko MLA Nandita Das of the Opposition Congress corroborated that Meghalaya Police also had a role in encouraging local residents to opt for the bordering state.
Replying to a Zero Hour discussion raised by Das in the Assembly, Bora said that police administration is encouraging people (in border areas) to choose Meghalaya.
Bora and Das have been named in a committee formed by Assam government to look into the disputes in Kamrup (Rural) district areas bordering Meghalaya.
A couple of months ago, they were accompanied by members of a similar committee from Meghalaya side to gauge the situation on the ground, and during the joint inspection visit, the delegates had held meetings with the public to gauge their preference for either state.
The Meghalaya delegation comprised MLAs Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar, Macmillan Byrsat, Kimfa S Marbaniang and senior district and police officials while the Assam delegation comprised Boko MLA Nandita Das, Assam commissioner and secretary border protection and development department, GD Tripathi and senior police and district officials.
Assam and Meghalaya have identified 12 points of disputes at chief ministerial-level talks in August this year, with six points, including the area under Boko legislative assembly constituency in Assam, taken up for resolution in the first phase.
A final joint statement by the two states based on reports of ministerial-level committees set for dealing with the six points of dispute is slated to be announced at the end of this month.
He also said Assam has administrative control in the areas under Boko LAC and though these are mostly Garo community dominated areas, many such villages are likely to opt to remain with Assam.
Bora said quick response teams are also on stand by in case of any law and order problem,? Bora added.
MLA Nandita Das had earlier alleged that people of Assam were being threatened by miscreants of Meghalaya to choose the neighbouring state during their representations for settling the disputes.
Meghalaya police is interfering with the choice the people make in these borders areas, though our police have abstained from getting involved in it, she added.
Das also claimed that people from Assam were not allowed to attend the meeting organised by the joint inspection team to give the impression before the delegation that the local residents preferred Meghalaya.
Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate state in 1972 and it had challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, leading to disputes related to 12 areas in different parts of the shared 884.9 km long border.