Don't politicise Langpih: Meghalaya CM

SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Donkupar Roy has said that the boundary problem between the state and Assam in Langpih area in Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills District should not be politicalised in the interest of the people living the area.
    
In the backdrop of Assam Government laying a foundation stone of a health centre, official guest houses and quarters for forest guards in the disputed Langpih area on May 31, Roy said politicalisation of the issue would only create problem to the people living in the area.
    
Reiterating Meghalaya's claim over the area, Roy said Assam Government should stop playing like an "elder brother" as it was having border dispute with neighbour states like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya.
    
Meghalaya and Assam were having problems in 10 areas which should be resolved amicably between the two states, but if they failed then the Centre should intervene, he said.
    
Roy claimed that Langpih was annexed to Assam's Kamrup district for administrative purposes during the British imperialism and after India attained independence, Langpih was tagged to the then United Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya and the problem cropped up when Assam government deployed police force in the area.
    
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has criticised the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance government's attitude of "challenging and confronting attitude" with the Assam government over the boundary dispute in Langpih in West Khasi Hills District.
    
"The confrontational attitude of the present state government would only infuse bad blood between the two states and hamper peace in the area and the people would suffer most," Leader of Opposition D D Lapang said.
    
While appealing to the Assam Government not to be vindictive on the issue, Lapang said, "We don't want to create battle fields along the border of the two states".
    
He added that the previous Congress led government was able to resolve the problem of a number of disputed areas with Assam through peaceful negotiation.
    
Lapang said a few years ago, there was trouble in Assam's Karbi Anglong District in which about 10,000 Khasi Pnar people of Meghalaya were rendered homeless and came to settle in Sahsniang village in Jaintia Hills.
    
Lapang said he then talked to the Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and the matter was solved amicably and the Khasi Pnar community went back to their own places.
    
In order to solve the long pending border issue, Lapang said a delegation of Congress' Meghalaya unit would soon approach the Centre for intervention for setting a neutral body to solve the problem.
    
He also said that the delegation would also meet All India Congress Committee leaders in New Delhi to find out a lasting solution to the vexed issue.