by Bhupen Goswami

Guwa : Union Home Minister Amit Shah today chaired the 2nd General Meeting of the North Eastern Council in Shillong. The Vice President of the Council, Union North Eastern Development Minister Jitendra Singh, Governors and Chief Ministers of eight North Eastern States and other senior officials attended the meeting. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asked the chief ministers of various north-eastern states to resolve inter-state border disputes through bilateral talks between the concerned state governments.

The Union Home Minister was in Shillong earlier in the day to preside over the 69th plenary session of the Regional Planning Body, North Eastern Council (NEC). The meeting discussed all important issues relating to development of the entire region including the progress made so far in various development projects, which are being implemented in various NE States. Later, talking to the media chief ministers of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, N Rio, Pema Khandu and N Biren Singh respectively admitted that ne states were asked to resolve the border dispute through interaction among themselves by Amit Shah. The chief ministers said that since most of the states have border disputes with Assam, such a bilateral dialogue process will be speeded up after the assembly elections in Assam in April next year.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu also said that through the engagement of state police, paramilitary forces and security forces, the state Government was doing its best to neutralize the activities of insurgent groups operating in the eastern districts of the state bordering Myanmar. He said there are no domestic insurgents in Arunachal Pradesh, but are affected by the activities of Naga rebel groups and insurgents from other NA states. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh informed the media after attending the NEC meeting that fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur is being carried out.

He said most of the insurgent groups in Manipur were now ending the operation mode. Meanwhile, a delegation of the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government led by Chief Minister Konrad Sangma met the Union Home Minister and discussed some pending issues including the implementation of inner line permits (ILP) across the state. Chief Minister Konrad Sangma has demanded inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. In addition, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya has submitted a memorandum to the Union Home Minister for the same. The Home Minister will attend two public rallies in Assam-Kokrajhar and Nalbari on Sunday.