Territorial dispute brewing in North East?

NEW DELHI: BJP MP from Tezpur Ram Prasad Sarmah on Tuesday strongly took up the controversy over Naga leader Isaac Muivah's claim that "greater Nagalim" has been conceded, indicating the tightrope the saffron party will need to walk on the issue now that there are NDA governments in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

The matter was taken up in the Lok Sabha during the zero hour when Congress MP from West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Choudhury asked the government to clarify on the issue since there was an apparent confusion on the sensitive matter. He said the Centre claimed that a six-decade-old problem had been resolved in wake of a framework signed between the Centre and NSCN-IM.

"There are conflicting reports coming now. The NSCN-IM leadership is claiming that integration of all Naga-inhabited areas has been accepted by the Centre while the government has denied it. What is the truth?" he asked.

Even before Choudhury finished, the issue was taken up by an agitated Sarmah, who said, "It is a very important issue of integrity of Assam, Manipur, Arunachal.... Naga leaders are claiming that they want integration of Manipur, Assam and Nagaland, which is totally illegal. The states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal cannot accept it. The Government of India should stop it. Nagaland should return our territories — Dimapur, Sapekhati, Merapani and other areas and Oriam Ghat. It is our demand. People of Assam will never accept this proposal of greater Nagaland."

The Modi government might now find itself under pressure to resolve the issue as the current regional configuration and the BJP regime at the Centre provide the political leverage to conclude negotiations with Muivah. While there was no reply from the government's end on the issue, it is to be seen how it deals with the issue that has the potential to turn volatile.