Shillong, April 21: United Democratic Party (UDP) leader and Nongpoh legislator Mayralborn Syiem on Friday said there is still plenty of scope for revisiting the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Meghalaya and Assam in regards to the six of the twelve areas of difference shared between the two states.

Syiem told reporters that the MoU signed on March 29, last year is not final and said, “(It is because) the parliament will take a final call on the matter. So there is still plenty of scope for revisiting (the MoU).”

He said that reviewing the MoU was one of the main agendas in the UDP’s election manifesto. “As one of the constituents of the MDA-2, we also have to focus also on the common minimum programme where all party manifesto will come together so that we can move ahead,” Syiem added.

When asked that the chief minister Conrad K Sangma had already maintained that there will be no review of the MoU, the UDP legislator however said, “That time will tell as the dynamic of politics is always there.”

He said the first phase of border talks had witnessed discontentment from certain sections of the society as people have expressed their dissatisfaction.

“The regional committee of the government has also tried to address this issue as far as possible but this is an issue which you cannot solve in one go as it is an issue which you cannot satisfy 100 out of 100. There will be discontentment as there are people who are happy and there are people who are sad but at the end of the day the government has to take a stand,” he added.

Lauding the MDA government for taking the initiative to solve the border issue once and for all, Syiem said, “MDA-I has tried and now we want the support of the people also because we understand in democracy criticism will always be there but I would like to suggest going for a constructive opposition.”

He assured that the UDP will follow up the issue and work hand in hand with the government for the benefit of the people and expressed confidence that the common minimum programme will definitely happen in the MDA-2 government.

Further, Syiem also asserted the need for the government to take into consideration that anything relating to the border should be as per Para 20 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

He also informed that the regional committees will soon sit to discuss the second phase of border talks for resolving the remaining six areas of difference.