Shillong, Jun 30: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday said discussions on the inter-state border dispute with Assam will resume once the regional committees are reconstituted, adding that both states are keen to take the talks forward at the earliest. Sangma said the delay was due to cabinet expansions and reshuffles in both states, but stressed that the current process is “constructive” unlike the “futile” meetings of the past.
“Basically, we have to reconstitute the regional committees because a cabinet reshuffle has taken place. Accordingly, we want to make sure that protocols are maintained. So we did that reconstitution some time back,” Sangma told reporters.
“We were waiting because Assam had to expand its cabinet, which happened last month. Obviously, everybody is settling down and each minister has many other issues to deal with in their respective departments and ministries,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the process would move ahead once Assam assigns responsibilities. “I am sure that once they settle down, the Chief Minister of Assam will assign responsibilities for the different regional committees to take place. Once the necessary people are in place, and the chairmen and the committees are in place, definitely both the governments, and both the CM of Assam and myself, are keen to sit and discuss this at the earliest,” he said.
Contrasting the current approach with earlier years, Sangma said, “A lot of things are happening in a positive way. If we look at the last 50 years, which were actually futile years, where they would meet for tea and say ‘status quo maintained’, have tea and come back — that is futile, if you ask me.” “What we have done is something that is constructive and moving in the right direction, and we are actually resolving problems,” he added.
Citing the resolution of the Langpih issue as an example, Sangma said, “Last time, the Langpih issue would not have been resolved if it were not for the kind of relations we share, the discussions we are having, and the kind of seriousness that both sides have.”
He acknowledged the complexity of the dispute. “These are complex issues. They do not have a straight-forward reply or answer to them,” he said.
On the status of earlier decisions, Sangma said, “All the discussions that have happened are unlimited. Whatever has been in the minutes are decisions of the committees. That cannot be changed unless, of course, the chief minister-level committees sit down and say, ‘Well, they have decided this, but we look at it otherwise.’” He said each round of talks has built confidence.
“Every exercise has led to a certain level of confidence. Every exercise has led to a certain level of decision-making. Until that time, as I said, if those decisions are challenged, they remain the decisions that have been made by those committees,” he said.
The new committees, he added, will continue from where the previous panels left off.
“The committees that come in now will take forward from the point that was left by the old committees and take forward the discussions. If the new committees feel that they have to be changed because there are new developments or whatever, then that will be considered,” Sangma said.
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