NPF clarifies ‘CM statement’ on Assam-Nagaland border issue

EMN
DIMAPUR, OCTOBER 10

Clarifying on the statement attributed to Chief Minister TR Zeliang on the border issue appearing in some sections of the media on October 10, the NPF said the Chief Minister never stated that Nagaland lacks documents to prove or substantiate its claims on the border issue. He only stated that the border issue between Assam and Nagaland was an old problem and the case had landed up in the Supreme Court of India as a result of the writ petition filed by the government of Assam, NPF Press Bureau said in a clarification today.
The NPF also clarified that the Chief Minister only said certain documents which included digitized maps were sought by the court and for want of more documents the case has been dragging on for a long period of time. Moreover, he had also mentioned that there are certain areas with no clear boundary demarcation between the states of Nagaland and Assam which has resulted in the dispute ever since the state of Nagaland was created, the NPF release said.
The government of Assam is claiming the 1925 Notification as the constitutional boundary which has never been verified on the ground nor authenticated by the governments of Assam and Nagaland, the NPF said.
The party said the Chief Minister, therefore, suggested that the best way to settle the border dispute would be to arrive at an amicable settlement through mutual understanding and cooperation between the two governments on a give and take basis, as, in any case, the Supreme Court would not be in a position to possibly demarcate the boundary on its own. Hence, the boundary issue would take an indefinite period of time to come to a mutually acceptable conclusion, the NPF said.
It added that therefore, in keeping with the direction of the Supreme Court in its latest order to the Union Home Ministry dated 24th September, 2014, the Chief Minister had also suggested that it is best that the issue be settled outside the court.
Meanwhile, the NPF has requested all concerned to exercise extreme caution and restraint, since the border issue between Nagaland and Assam is a sensitive matter and it would not be in the interest of the people and the State if wrong statements are attributed to the Chief Minister in his speech at anytime in this aspect.