‘It’s a lie that Centre has agreed to Greater Nagalim demand’

BJP MP from Assam tells AVISHEK G DASTIDAR why he wants Centre to intervene

5 QUESTIONS: RAM PRASAD SARMAH

Why did you raise this issue in Lok Sabha?

Naga leaders are claiming that the Centre has agreed to their demand for a Greater Nagalim including [parts of] other northeastern states, which is an absolute lie. People of Assam in particular are very upset with this claim. I had to raise this in Lok Sabha to get the government's attention.

But hasn’t the Centre already rejected the claim?

Yes. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonwal spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the weekend and he was told the Centre has not agreed to any such thing and the cultural identity of Nagaland will remain. But people are very angry and there could be violence locally if this issue is not addressed by the Centre in a proper manner.

Aren’t you giving the issue more mileage than it deserves when the government has already denied the claims?

It is my duty to raise the issue that concerns the people of my constituency. And let me tell you, there is ashaanti ka mahaul in Assam and even parts of Manipur ever since Naga leaders have made this claim.

Have you also demanded that Nagaland cede parts of its territory to Assam?

Yes. As a matter of fact Nagaland had encroached around 1 lakh hectares that belonged to Assam and other states. For the interest of peace and integrity of the Northeast, there should be an effort to return these territories to where they originally belonged.

So, what do you want the government to do now?

If the Centre responds properly, then violence and possible chaos in the state could be avoided.