Mukul Sangma stated that the Meghalaya government cannot negotiate and leave Block I and Block II, which include Khanduli and Psiar, in silos.
Digital Desk: The Trinamool Congress (TMC), the only opposition party in the Meghalaya assembly, warned chief minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday not to hurry into a border agreement with neighbouring Assam that includes a land swap to end the border issue between the two states.
“I would like to appeal to the government to hold on, to have a more comprehensive understanding of this complex, contentious issue before you decide to resolve the matter part by part,” Mukul Sangma said in support of a motion proposed by party colleague George B Lyngdoh, who represents Umroi constituency in the assembly.
The Trinamool’s recommendation to reassess the proposed agreement comes a day after chief minister Conrad Sangma assured the legislature that Meghalaya would retain 30 of the 36 disputed villages along the border.
Conrad Sangma stated that the chief ministers of the two states would meet with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on March 9 to move the first agreement forward.
A committee formed to resolve the five-decade-old conflict proposed a land swap to resolve six of the twelve disputes, along with the inter-state border. The committee suggested that Assam should get 18.51 square kilometres of the 36.79 square kilometres of disputed territory in six regions - Gizang, Tarabari, Boklapara, Khanapara-Pilingkata, and Ratacherra, while Meghalaya should get the remaining 18.28 square kilometres.
Mukul Sangma stated that the state government cannot negotiate and leave Block I and Block II, which include Khanduli and Psiar, in silos.
Further, warning about the present Meghalaya government move, Mukul Sangma said, “The moment we take up these territories in silos, we will not be able to negotiate with Assam from a position of strength. That is why I would want to appeal this government to hold on and have patience.”
He added that if the memorandum of understanding is finalized, Assam may insist on the same parameters, including ethnicity and people’s will, as used for the first six areas of disagreement in Blocks I and II.
“Please keep in mind that the opponent has been aggressively trying to construct new settlements after settlement, bringing in other people from ethnic communities to make our Khasi-Pnar population a minority in the majority of the villages, and this is happening regularly,” Mukul Sangma asserted.
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