'Congress conspired to weaken North East': Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on border disputes

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday accused the Congress of weakening the North East.

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma lashed out at the Congress party on Sunday, accusing it of weakening the North East.

Reacting to Congress’s statement over the Assam and Meghalaya governments’ land-swap deal to resolve the decades-long inter-state border row, the Assam CM said that Congress has made a game plan to keep the North East fighting among themselves.

"If all the states fight among themselves, we can't go to Delhi and ask for anything as a North Eastern region. So, Congress has devised a game plan, but we are trying to defeat or correct the Congress game plan after 50 years," Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Accusing Congress of creating border disputes in the North Eastern region through the unplanned creation of new states, Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Congress committed certain blunders.

"If you go to a place where many of the disputes occur, you will find that it is either deep inside Assam or deep inside Meghalaya. Congress had formed all of these new states in haste, without first trying to resolve the disputes. As a result of Congress' policy, the people of the North East are suffering today, and we are fighting amongst ourselves. Congress intended to keep the North East in a weak defensive position," he said.

Read | CM Himanta Biswa Sarma holds all-party meeting over Assam-Meghalaya border issue

Both the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi and submitted the reports of their respective state governments to resolve the boundary dispute between the two states.