Guwahati, June 14: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on June 13 said the signatories of the 1985 Assam Accord should have pressed for fencing along the entire India-Bangladesh border instead of limiting the demand to Assam.
Speaking at a programme held at the BJP headquarters in Guwahati to commemorate 12 years of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, Sarma said border security measures should have covered all five states sharing boundaries with Bangladesh — Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and West Bengal.
The Chief Minister alleged that the Congress had made a “historical mistake” by focusing on fencing only the border stretches in Assam while leaving sections in neighbouring states open. According to him, this allowed illegal migrants to enter through other states and eventually move into Assam.
Sarma said the BJP-led Central government later addressed the issue and that border fencing work had already commenced in Meghalaya and Tripura. He added that similar work would now be undertaken in West Bengal.
He stated that the Assam government’s submission to the Demography Committee constituted by the Centre would stress the importance of sealing the entire India-Bangladesh border and ensuring proper identity verification mechanisms.
The Chief Minister said the committee should examine demographic changes over the decades, including variations in the population composition of different religious communities since Independence.
Highlighting the strategic concerns of the Northeast, Sarma noted that the region remains linked to the rest of the country through the narrow Siliguri Corridor and could face connectivity challenges during security emergencies. He said the Centre has initiated rail and road tunnel projects beneath the Brahmaputra and in the Siliguri corridor to strengthen connectivity and enhance strategic preparedness.
Sarma also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with giving priority to the development of the Northeast, stating that large-scale infrastructure projects undertaken by the Centre had transformed Assam at an unprecedented pace. He further said the Prime Minister’s support had helped draw investments into the state, particularly through the Advantage Assam 2.0 investment summit.
