Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma shot back at leader of the opposition Dr Mukul Sangma over the latter’s criticisms of the memorandum of understanding signed between Meghalaya and Assam over part of their disputed border.
At a Trinamool Congress (TMC) meeting in East Garo Hills yesterday, Dr Sangma promised that he would tear up the agreement if the TMC is elected in next year’s state election. Conrad has previously said that the agreement is non-negotiable now that it has been signed.
The CM said that Dr Sangma is only raking up the issue for political reasons as the election draws nearer.
The first phase of the border agreement has been attacked by opposition parties, pressure groups, civil society organisations and even some parties within the MDA. Around 18 square kilometres of the disputed territory will go to Assam under the deal to be confirmed by Parliament after a detailed study by the Survey of India. Many villagers have denounced the agreement for giving away land to Assam that they want to be part of Meghalaya.
Conrad today repeated a claim that it was Dr Sangma’s previous government that left several villages out of Meghalaya’s claims, which has made the current CM’s government give them up to Assam. Dr Sangma is, Conrad said, making accusations against himself by now criticising what was done in 2011.
In another repetition, he also said that Dr Sangma did little to resolve the dispute when he was in power prior to 2018. It has been the argument of the opposition that Conrad’s government has rushed into a bad deal whereas it is an issue that demands patience, which is why it remained unresolved for so long.
“I don’t know why they (the TMC) are feeling this way. I think they should take it in a positive manner and be happy that we finally found a solution to a very complicated problem,” the CM said, adding a claim that 99.9 per cent of the areas of difference between the two states have gone to Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, on the second phase of border talks, which are to try and resolve the ‘more complicated’ areas of difference, Conrad said that the heavy rains and floods that have affected both states has scuppered the timeline. The second phase of talks was originally scheduled to begin in June. Once the situation improves, the discussions will be taken forward, the CM said.
