Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that the state has no claim over any land and he does not want anyone to leave their land.
“We cannot fight with the bordering states for small villages. We do not want anybody to leave their land, as Assam has no claim over any land.
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“Assam did not ask for any land. It is not a question of them leaving the land because we have never in our history asked for any land from our bordering states,” chief minister Sarma said.
Sarma was referring to the border disputes between Assam and its neighbouring states. Recently, a border dispute between Assam and Mizoram had turned violent, killing at least six people.
“Their (people’s) loyalty lies with which side? Are they loyal to Assam or Meghalaya? Loyalty is one of the primary criteria, while the second criteria is your history, and the third is administrative convenience. States exist for the welfare of the people.
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“So if you have to travel 10 km in Meghalaya to reach the district headquarters and 30 km in Assam for the same purpose, administrative convenience is definitely not on Assam’s side.
“So, four broad criteria have been formulated — historical perspective, continuity, administrative convenience and will of the people, which is the most important factor,” Sarma said.
He said that he has invited all Assam MPs to the national capital for dinner on Tuesday, cutting across party lines.
“I want to speak to them about Assam’s development issues as one unit,” said the CM.