Trinamool wants Meghalaya-Assam border pact repealed, Garo-Khasi included in 8th Schedule

TMC MPs during a protest march to raise issues concerning the Meghalaya State, near Parliament House, in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Credit: PTI Photo

Trinamool Congress in poll-bound Meghalaya demanded on Tuesday that the boundary pact signed with neighbouring Assam be scrapped. The ruling party in West Bengal said the pact didn’t acknowledge the sentiments of “all stakeholders”.

“Any resolution that is decided upon should be acceptable to the people. The people of Assam and Meghalaya are like brothers and sisters. We are an integral part of the vibrant community of the northeastern states. Meghalaya, which was formerly a part of Assam, received statehood as our forefathers deemed it necessary,” former Meghalaya chief minister and Trinamool leader Mukul Sangma told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday.

According to Sangma, all dispute resolution processes should be acceptable to the people. “But the government has forgotten that to resolve such a problem, all stakeholders need to be taken on board,” he said.

Also read: Non-bailable arrest warrant issued against Meghalaya BJP leader accused of running 'brothel'

Trinamool leaders staged a protest in front of Parliament demanding scrapping of the pact. They also wanted inclusion of Garo and Khasi language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, and said the National People’s Party-led government in Meghalaya failed to maintain law and order in the state.

“In the context of Meghalaya, the stakeholders are people to whom the land belongs. In Meghalaya, local institutions have ownership over the land. Therefore, resistance from the people has sprung up. The government of the day is in the mood to impose a decision which is not consistent with the spirit of democracy,” said Sangma, who was a Congress member and served as chief minister between 2018 and 2018.

The pact signed between chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya in March this year decided to divide disputed land in six out of the 12 areas of difference between the two states. While Assam got 18.51 sq. km of the disputed areas, Meghalaya retained the remaining 18.28 sq.km.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Assam and the NPP government in Meghalaya called the pact historic. Trinamool Congress, however, hinted that they would project this issue as one of their poll planks in the Assembly elections slated next year. The BJP is a minor ally in the Meghalaya government.

Trinamool emerged as the principal Opposition party after 12 out of 17 Congress MLAs including Sangma joined the party in November last year.