
Guwahati, September 5 (NNN): Irked by the proposal of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh regarding the land swap deal with Bangladesh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and BJP's Bharatiya Janata Yuva Manch (BJYM) have threatened to call Assam bandh. The VHP and BJYM went hammer and tongs at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the proposal.
The deal idea preceded the Prime Minister’s three-day trip to Bangladesh along with the chief ministers of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, all of which share boundary with India’s eastern neighbor. Tribal organizations in Meghalaya have opposed the move saying it violated their traditional land usage but Assam reacted the most, mainly because the PM represents the state in the Rajya Sabha.
India and Bangladesh share a 4065km border, the stretch with Assam being 272km. Bangladesh is in adverse possession of 665 acres of Assam’s land – 160 acres in Dhubri district in the west and 505 acres in Karimganj district in the south.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi had last week indicated that the disputed areas could be swapped in larger interest of building relationship with Bangladesh. His remarks drew flak from opposition parties and other NGOs.
“The move to give away our land to the neighbouring country is terrible. We’re giving away land where our soldiers had laid down their lives for the sake of the nation,” VHP Assam unit leader Abhijit Deka said.
Unlike regional political party Asom Gana Parishad, the influential All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chose not to support the VHP-BJYM bandh. But it threatened a statewide movement if New Delhi went ahead with the land swap deal with Bangladesh.
The Assam students' body said it would oppose the land swap deal. In a memorandum, it urged the PM and the chief minister not to cede even an inch of land to Bangladesh under any circumstances. It also expressed deep concern over the unabated influx of Bangladeshi migrants into Assam.
The deal idea preceded the Prime Minister’s three-day trip to Bangladesh along with the chief ministers of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, all of which share boundary with India’s eastern neighbor. Tribal organizations in Meghalaya have opposed the move saying it violated their traditional land usage but Assam reacted the most, mainly because the PM represents the state in the Rajya Sabha.
India and Bangladesh share a 4065km border, the stretch with Assam being 272km. Bangladesh is in adverse possession of 665 acres of Assam’s land – 160 acres in Dhubri district in the west and 505 acres in Karimganj district in the south.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi had last week indicated that the disputed areas could be swapped in larger interest of building relationship with Bangladesh. His remarks drew flak from opposition parties and other NGOs.
“The move to give away our land to the neighbouring country is terrible. We’re giving away land where our soldiers had laid down their lives for the sake of the nation,” VHP Assam unit leader Abhijit Deka said.
Unlike regional political party Asom Gana Parishad, the influential All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chose not to support the VHP-BJYM bandh. But it threatened a statewide movement if New Delhi went ahead with the land swap deal with Bangladesh.
The Assam students' body said it would oppose the land swap deal. In a memorandum, it urged the PM and the chief minister not to cede even an inch of land to Bangladesh under any circumstances. It also expressed deep concern over the unabated influx of Bangladeshi migrants into Assam.