Shillong (Meghalaya): Meghalaya Lok Sabha MP Vincent H Pala on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that interstate boundary clashes have not just been on the rise of late, but have taken an aggressive turn under the newly sworn-in BJP government in Assam. Provocations and aggressive posturing at the interstate borders is perilous to healthy neighborly relations, Pala maintained.
“For reasons best known to the present BJP-led government of Assam, such conflicts have not only been on the rise but have also taken a much more aggressive turn,” Pala, a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Shillong, said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Seeking the PM’s intervention for establishing cordial relations between the neighboring states, the former Union minister of state said, “I sincerely urge you to address this issue at the earliest. The progress of the region has long been fought for... and it would be a matter of great regret to let that wither away.” He said the recent clashes along the Assam-Mizoram border, which claimed six lives, have once again highlighted the vulnerability of peace and stability of the region.
The Meghalaya MP noted that barring Tripura and Manipur, all other states in the northeast have a long boundary dispute with Assam. It has also given rise to wrangle over land, forest resources, and ethnic clashes over the years, he added.
Read: Assam, Mizoram govt's urge officials to ensure safety of 'outsiders' in respective states
Meanwhile, the North East MPs Forum, of which Pala is the general secretary, has asked both Assam and Mizoram governments to adopt conciliatory steps to ensure peace and tranquility along the border.
The forum appealed to both the states to come together with the honest aim of resolving the long-pending dispute. The recent developments on the Assam-Mizoram borders have been a cause of great anguish and regret to the people of the northeast, it said.
“On behalf of the Members of Parliament from the northeast, we appeal to both the parties and governments to adopt conciliatory steps to ensure peace and tranquility along the border,” a statement issued by forum chairman Kiren Rijiju and its general secretary said. “The loss of life and injury on both sides is shocking... and we wish to extend our condolences to the affected families,” the forum added.
Read: 'Bullets rained from high positions from Mizoram side'
(PTI)
