Withdrawal of police from disputed areas: Meghalaya CM backs decision to reciprocate Assam’s actions

“This is a gesture by our government to ensure that both the governments are able to bring in neutrality,” CM Conrad Sangma said.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Wednesday clarified that Meghalaya was not pulling back its forces from the border with Assam even as he backed the idea of reciprocating Assam Government’s decision to withdraw police forces from the areas of dispute along the interstate border and bring in neutral forces.

Reacting to the opposition from different quarters, Chief Minister Sangma said, “Assam is withdrawing the police from their side and they will be bringing in neutral forces in those locations. Assam has mentioned that if Assam is moving one step on one side then they have requested that if Meghalaya also can adjust accordingly, so that there is a reciprocation from our side. It’s not that we are moving backwards. But since Assam has offered and said that they will be bringing neutral forces there, it is a gesture from our side to ensure that both sides are able to bring in neutrality.”

Besides, Sangma also informed that Assam has decided to withdraw Border Outposts (BOPs) constructed within the territory of Meghalaya. The CM said, “There are some particular BOPs which were constructed very much within the borders of even current, non-disputed zones of Meghalaya, and Assam has given commitment that those BOPs will be removed.”

“So people are focused only on that one line where I said that along with the other movements, Meghalaya will also show the confidence and will reciprocate. But the main movement will be done by Assam where they want to ensure that neutral forces come in and wherever Assam has set up BOPs in locations which are very much Meghalaya and non-disputed zones, those will be withdrawn, ” Sangma added.

On September 30, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma held an all-important meeting in Guwahati to further pursue the border issue and resolve all disputes at the earliest. It was in this meeting that Assam had agreed to withdraw police force from the areas of dispute and replace it with a neutral force like the CRPF.

Both the Chief Ministers had also mutually agreed to hand over the probe into the Mukroh firing incident to the CBI.

Read also: Mukroh firing incident: Assam, Meghalaya govts agree to hand over probe to CBI; CM level talks held in Guwahati

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