Shillong, May 26: Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Vincent Pala on Tuesday accused the state government of doing “lip service” on the Meghalaya-Assam border issue, especially in the Lapangap area, and alleged that there was no serious effort to permanently resolve the dispute.
Speaking to reporters, Pala said the government must involve people living in the affected villages if it genuinely wants to settle the border problem.
“If they really want to solve the border issue, they should involve the people on the ground, the villages in those areas, traditional heads, the councils and also hold all-party meetings,” he said.
According to Pala, agreements signed without consulting local stakeholders would not bring a lasting solution.
“They go to five-star hotels, hold talks and sign agreements, but who will follow them if the people are not involved?” he questioned.
He said border tensions would continue unless the concerns of local residents were properly addressed.
Pala also said the government should give priority to resolving the situation in Lapangap and alleged that officials visit the area only when tensions flare up.
“I only see the government visiting there when there is an issue,” he said.
The Congress leader further alleged that both the Assam and Meghalaya governments had the ability to resolve the dispute if they truly wanted to.
“The government in Assam is BJP and in Meghalaya it is an alliance (of the Bharatiya Janata Party and National People’s Party). If they want to solve it, they can solve it. I am very confident about that, but I think they are not interested in solving it,” he claimed.
Pala alleged that the government had acted quickly in areas where it had its own interests, but not in places where public interest was involved.
“For other areas where they had interest, they solved it. But in areas linked to public interest, nothing has happened. This government is not for the public, it is for certain people,” he alleged.
