Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that the government would move the Supreme Court over the border issue with Mizoram even as he warned that “no one can take even an inch of our land”.
The remarks come a day after border clashes with Mizoram left six Assam police personnel dead and more than 60 others injured as violence escalated along the inter-state border in Cachar district. Calling it a boundary issue between two states and not a political dispute, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Assam government has also decided to move the Supreme Court with a (law) suit over this. No one can take even an inch of our land. We are committed to securing our territory.”
Sarma also said the dispute was not over land but regarding forest. “It is a reserve forest. Can reserve forest be utilised for settlement? Assam wants to protect the forest. It’s not organising any settlement in forest area, we don’t want any settlement there,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
The latest clash was the result of tension simmering between locals of Lailapur village in Assam’s Cachar district and neighbouring Vairengte village in Mizoram’s Kolasib district. A recent encroachment drive by the Assam Police is believed to have added to the tensions. On Monday, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga said his government “strongly condemns the unjustified act” of the government of Assam in this “intrusion and aggression” into the territory of Mizoram.
News Source : Republic World
