Assam govt taking initiatives to defuse border tension: Patowary

The Assam government is taking initiatives to defuse tension and maintain peace on the state's border with Mizoram, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said in the Assembly today.
He also said Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was himself monitoring the situation on the Assam-Mizoram border.
Tension prevailed when Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), a student's body, tried to construct a rest house on National Highway-154 at Kachurthal area in Assam's Hailakandi district near the interstate border on February 27.
Describing the incident as "politically motivated", Patowary alleged, "There are political interests behind all these incidents. Some are trying to create tension between Assam and Mizoram for gains with political motivation".

Replying to a discussion on the border area disturbances with Mizoram during the Zero Hour, Patowary informed the House that the state government was taking all initiatives to minimise the tension and maintain peace.
He said the state government was alert and had deployed sufficient force there. Senior police officers along with deputy commissioner and SDO were also stationed there, he said.

Patowary said that Assam wanted cordial relations with all neighbouring states and expected others to reciprocate.
He said that Assam did not have serious border issues with Mizoram, unlike Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
The minister said Sonowal had discussion the matter with his Mizoram counterpart, Lal Thanhawla, and Home Minister Rajnath Singh which was followed by talks with the chief secretary and at the local level to defuse the tension.

Earlier, the Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia requested the speaker to send an all-party delegation to the area to assess the situation and try to bring peace.
Rejecting the proposal, Patowary said, "Two Mizoram MLAs were there when the tension prevailed. We should not do anything at this moment that may lead to worsening of the situation."
Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha requested the state government to hold a tripartite meeting of Assam, Mizoram and the Centre to find out a permanent solution to the problem.
Thanhawla had yesterday written to the Union home minister seeking his intervention in the Mizoram-Assam border dispute for restoration of peace at the earliest, an official had said.

He had requested Singh to intervene for the resumption of border talks at the earliest, Press Advisor to the Chief Minister L R Sailo had said.
Thanhawla had said the MZP should be allowed to build a guest house on the land belonging to the first chief minister of Mizoram, Ch Chhunga. The land was donated to the student organisation by his widow, he had said.