Meghalaya party slams Assam CM's festival role amid border dispute
A regional party in Meghalaya has criticised the participation of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a festival of the hill state's Jaiñtia, or Pnar, community on Thursday.
The Voice of the People Party (VPP) extended “warm greetings” to the people of Meghalaya on the occasion of Behdeiñkhlam, but said it would have been more grateful to the festival organisers had they avoided inviting Mr. Sarma as the chief guest.
Observed annually after the sowing season, Behdeiñkhlam symbolises warding off diseases, evil spirits and misfortunes while invoking divine blessings for peace, prosperity and agricultural abundance. The rituals involve striking the roofs of houses with bamboo poles.
“It is undeniable that he (Mr. Sarma) is instrumental in instilling a sense of insecurity in the minds of the people living in the border areas,” the VPP statement, signed by its spokesperson A.W. Rani, said.
Taking to social media, the Assam Chief Minister thanked the people of Meghalaya for the privilege of celebrating Behdeiñkhlam with them in Jowai, the headquarters of West Jaiñtia Hills district.
“This vibrant festival of Jaiñtia Hills symbolises the driving away of negative forces and prayers for a bumper harvest,” he said.
Assam and Meghalaya have had disputes in 12 sectors along their 855-km border since 1972. Mr. Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart, Conrad K. Sangma, signed an agreement in March 2022 to resolve the dispute in six sectors. The unresolved dispute in the remaining six sectors has claimed at least seven lives since November 2022.
On May 29, Mr. Sarma said the two states had agreed to expedite the ongoing boundary demarcation process to arrive at a lasting solution to the decades-old border issue.
