Inter-State boundary disputes: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju calls for status quo in Northeast

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday called for maintaining status quo by the north-eastern States on the inter-State boundary issue and asked them to handle the matter at the local levels.

The boundary dispute between several north-eastern States are pending with the Supreme Court. Now, it is the responsibility of each State to maintain the status quo and avoid any form of violence over the issue, said the Union Law & Justice Minister while addressing the media here.

Rijiju arrived here on a three-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh as part of the 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the recently sworn-in Union Ministers. He said that the Centre would make efforts to find a solution to the decades-old boundary disputes between the NE States.

''Till then, the status quo should be maintained by each State. Such issues should be resolved at local levels," he suggested .

"There should be no violence of any form. Each State has the responsibility to maintain status quo. We are not enemies. We are all citizens of the country. The seven sisters (NE States) should not treat each other as enemies," added the Union Minister.

"When there are no restrictions in the movement of people among the north-eastern States, there should be no tension. The NE States should live in harmony as per the laid down mechanism," added Rijiju.

Referring to the reported killing of nearly 600 people in border clashes in NE till date, he said that such violence would shatter the prevailing peace in the region.

Rijiju termed the recent violence between Assam and Mizoram as ''unfortunate'', and said that each State should act in a balanced way and not make any provocative statements.

A total of six Assam Police personnel were among the seven persons killed and over 50 others were injured in clashes on the Assam-Mizoram boundary recently.

"We are all united. United Northeast is for united India. There should be bonhomie among the States of this region. If such issues (boundary disputes) continue, peace will be disrupted and the dream of a united India will fail," he added.

Responding to a question on bringing Arunachal Pradesh, a frontier State, under the purview of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to protect the rights of its indigenous people and amending Article 371(H), Rijiju said that there are provisions in the Constitution and laws to ensure protection of inherited rights of the State's tribal people.

The Sixth Schedule consists of provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

"Besides the Constitutional provisions, the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) has benefitted Arunachal. According to the provisions of the Act, except for the indigenous tribal people no foreigners can get ST status in the State," he said while referring to the Gauhati High Court order of 1996 and the Supreme Court order of 2015 for granting citizenship to the Chakma and Hajong refugees in the north-eastern State.

"The protection provided by the CAA is far more beneficial for the people of the State. It will protect the identity, culture and rights of the tribal population and nobody can disrupt it," he said.

"If any more protection is required, it will be looked into. I am there as a representative of the State; and, I will never let the State face any problem," added the Minister.

Last year, the State Assembly had resolved to persuade the Centre to include the frontier State in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India to protect the rights of its indigenous population.

The Assembly had also resolved that the special provision with respect to the State be further strengthened by amending Article 371(H) by inserting provisions for protection of religious or social practices of the tribes of the State, customary law and procedure of its tribes, administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to customary law of the tribes and ownership and transfer of land and its resources.

Arunachal Pradesh, which has borders with Bhutan, China and Myanmar, comes under the Fifth Schedule, which deals with provisions related to the administration and control of scheduled areas and STs (Scheduled Tribes).

Article 371(H) has special provisions in respect of the Governor and the total seats in its Assembly.

During his three-day visit to Arunachal Pradesh, Rijiju will meet the family members of former BJP State presidents and interact with various community-based organizations and NGOs. He is scheduled to inaugurate an oxygen plant funded under PM Cares at Likabali in Lower Siang district, BJP sources said.

On his arrival here, Rijiju called on the Governor Brig. (retd) Dr B.D. Mishra at the Raj Bhavan here.

The Governor congratulated Rijiju for being the first person from the State to be included in the Union Cabinet. He hoped that Rijiju will strengthen the North East development policy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also contribute effectively to the progress of the State, stated a communiqué from Raj Bhawan.

Governor Mishra further requested Rijiju to ensure that a full-fledged High Court is set up in Arunachal for strengthening the Judiciary system in the State. He also requested the Union Minister to augment the infrastructure and manpower for the Courts across the State.

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