Border row: Mizoram Home Minister suggests 'give and take' approach not 'commission'

Ever since the border tussle between Assam and Mizoram flared up, suggestions kept pouring in including setting up border commission to resolve the border issue, writes ETV Bharat Senior Correspondent Gautam Debroy.

Aizawl (Mizoram): As Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is scheduled to meet Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi over the ongoing Assam-Mizoram border conflict, Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana suggested that there should be a “liberal attitude in resolving the border issue”. “If we stick to our guns, it will be difficult to arrive at a solution for long-pending border dispute. In fact, there should be a give-and-take approach on the basis of which the vexed border issue could be resolved,” said Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana in an exclusive interview to ETV Bharat.

Lalchamliana said that lot more to be done apart from the Delhi agreement. “Delhi agreement is ok. But there is lot more to be done. I hope in the near future there will be meeting between both the States,” said Lalchamliana.

Days after the border violence on July 26, chief secretaries of both the States met in New Delhi and signed an agreement to resolve the issue amicably. Accordingly, neutral forces (CAPF) have been deployed on the disputed national highway 306. Talking about the suggestion of setting up boundary commission to resolve the imbroglio, Lalchamliana said that such commissions would not serve any purpose. “We have seen such boundary commissions even in the past. But they turned out to be a futile exercise,” he said.

In fact, the border tussle between the two States flared up, suggestions kept pouring in including setting up border commission to resolve the border issue. “There are bound to be differences between two states over land but we need to find a common ground,” Lalchamliana said.

Meanwhile, two days after both the State governments have decided in Aizawl that necessary steps would be taken to maintain peace in the conflict zone and resolve the matter amicably, normalcy is yet to return. For instance, it is reported that several trucks which were supposed to enter into Mizoram carrying essential commodities and life-saving drugs had to return back to Silchar after local villagers in Lailapur (along Assam-Mizoram) border protested trucks entering into Mizoram.

Earlier, both Cachar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Keerthi Jalli and Superintendent of Police (SP) Ramandeep Kaur have informed deputy resident commissioner of Mizoram House in Cachar F Kaptluanga that all the stranded trucks at Silchar will be escorted till Mizoram border.

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