‘Will settle dispute by 2023’
AGARTALA: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that the boundary dispute between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam is expected to be “resolved before 2023”, and asserted that the Centre is committed to bringing peace and development to the region.
“Over 60% interstate border dispute between Meghalaya and Assam has been resolved. We hope that Arunachal Pradesh and Assam interstate border dispute will be resolved before 2023,” Shah said while speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of Ramakrishna Mission School in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district. Assam shares an 804-km boundary with Arunachal Pradesh. Though there was no issue initially, over the years, allegations of residents of one state encroaching land on the other side have led to disputes and violence. A suit pertaining to the issue has been pending before the Supreme Court since 1989.
Last year, following the insistence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah, both states had resolved to an out-of-court settlement of their border dispute through dialogue.
Asserting that efforts are underway to make the Northeast insurgency-free, he said 9,000 militants from the region have surrendered during the last eight years of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
“Youths of Northeast no longer carry guns and petrol bombs. They are now carrying laptops and are launching startups. This is the path of development that the Centre has envisaged for the region,” he said.
“Manipur, which was earlier known for bandhs and blockades for more than 200 days a year, is now witnessing a sea of change without any bandh during the last five years of BJP rule in the state,” he added.
Shah said the insurgency in the Bodoland region of Assam was resolved through the signing of the Bodo Peace Accord.
“Surrender of militant groups in Tripura and resolving of the Bru refugee issue was undertaken by the Modi government. The Union home ministry has taken initiatives to bring peace to Assam’s Karbi Anglong,” he added. The Union home minister further highlighted that a three-pronged agenda has been prepared for Northeast development.
“Firstly, we would preserve and promote the indigenous cultures and languages of the region. Secondly, we want to end all disputes among the northeastern states and make it free from insurgency and thirdly, we want to make the eight states the most developed in the country,” he said.
Shah lauded PM Modi for “reducing the distance between New Delhi and the northeast ”.
“In the eight years journey of the Bjp-led NDA government, the prime minister has reduced the distance between New Delhi and the northeast and treated the region as an integral part of the country which was previously not seen”. No former PM had frequently visited the northeast in a short span of time as Modi who did so more than 50 times in the last eight years, he added.
Shah, who is on a two-day visit to the northeastern state, also unveiled an 18ft statue of Swami Vivekananda on the premises of Ramakrishna Mission School.