A Congress delegation stopped by police from going to the Mizoram border | Photo courtesy: ANI

The Congress party took strong exception of Assam chief minister’s statement that he is ready to hand over even Nalbari and Guwahati to Mizoram if Centre and parliament asks him to.

Slamming CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for his “irresponsible” statement, the Congress said: “It is shocking that an Assam CM can speak in this ridiculous manner and make such irresponsible statements.”

On July 28, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee delegation, led by APCC president Bhupen Kumar Bora along with CLP leader Debabrata Saikia, deputy CLP leader Rakibul Hussain, working president Kamalakhsya Dey Purksyastha, president AIMC Sushmita Dev and other senior leaders tried to visit the site of the conflict in the Assam-Mizoram border. The delegation was stopped at Dholai Bazar and was not allowed to proceed further by the police.

Protesting the “ban” on their movement, APCC president Bhupen Kumar Bora said that it is a big conspiracy of the BJP government to not let opposition leaders to go to the site of violence while allowing chief ministers and other members of the ruling BJP. He questioned the right of the government to not allow a delegation of opposition leaders to visit the site. Bora said that this is not India-Pakistan border that they are being stopped. It is an interstate border so why are they being stopped.

The delegation later visited the injured Assam Police personnel at the hospital and also paid a visit to the families of the deceased.

The Congress leaders offered their condolences to the deceased police officers and demanded that those injured be shifted to Guwahati as there were not adequate facilities for their treatment in Silchar Medical College.

CLP leader Debabrata Saikia said that in October 2020 an incident had happened in the border when an Assamese civilian was killed in Mizoram police custody and tension had erupted in the area. “The state government then promised NIA investigation. BJP government was aware of Mizo aggression as proved by the FIR placed which is dated October 30, 2020.  But what action has the government taken till now? Moreover, the CM said that on July 27, the SP and DC went for a discussion. If they went for discussion then it should have happened over a table and not by sending a big force,” he said.

Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi has demanded a judicial enquiry into the incident to find out the actual cause of the same.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the whole incident speaks of total failure of Union home minister Amit Shah as he is responsible for law and order. “He (Amit Shah) said that he wants peace in Northeast but what happened on July 26 only seems to create more disruption in the region than peace…that too hours after his visit to the region,” Gogoi said.

AIMC president Susmita Dev strongly condemned the irresponsible statement of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on giving away Barak Valley, Guwahati and Nalbari to Mizoram and called NEDA a North East Disaster Alliance.

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