The Assam Congress, on Wednesday, came down heavily on chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for saying that he is ready to cede land to Mizoram if the Centre instructs him to do so.
Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah, who is leading a seven-member Congress committee to assess ground situation along the border Mizoram said that CM Sarma’s statement on ceding land was unfortunate.
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“I heard Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma saying that he is ready to cede entire Barak Valley to Mizoram if the Central Government instructs him to do so. This was a really unfortunate statement,” Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah who is in Silchar said on Wednesday.
He added: “We will not allow that to happen even if we need to ensure that by sacrificing our lives.”
Also read: Assam-Mizoram border clash: Total shutdown in Barak Valley
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Notably, the Assam Congress delegation, which was supposed to visit the Assam-Mizoram border areas in Lailapur, was stopped by the police near the Dholai Police Station in Cachar district.
Reacting to this the Assam Congress president said: “We have been stopped by the police here because the BJP-led Assam Government doesn’t want us to find out the ground reality. The government doesn’t want to expose its failures in handling the border dispute with Mizoram.”
Reacting to a query on whether the Assam Congress delegation obtained permission to visit the inter-state border areas Borah said: “Why do we need to take permission? Who takes permission to travel within the state itself? We are not trying to visit an international border area. We were supposed to visit areas that falls under Assam itself. Who takes a permission for that?”
“If the Ministers can visit the area, why can’t we? Did the ministers take permission for visiting the border areas? The Congress is the main opposition party in Assam and its leaders have every right to visit the border areas and take stock of the situation,” Bhupen Borah said.
Also read: Nagaland BJP MLA Mmhonlumo Kikon pitches for proper demarcation of Assam-Mizoram border
“Congress party’s team wanted to assess the ground situation at a point 5 kms from the border but they stopped us, 8 kms before it. BJP has messed up the situation,” All India Mahila Congress Committee president Sushmita Dev said.
Earlier, the Congress delegation visited the homes of the deceased policemen, who were killed due to firing by the Mizoram Police on Monday during the clash.
“It is heart breaking to see the grief and sadness of the families who have lost their loved ones,” Assam Congress leader Sushmita Dev said.
She added: “NEDA is now ‘North East Disaster Alliance’. Himanta Biswa Sarma ji formed NEDA only to sit on the CM’s chair.”