By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, August 17: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today pricked holes in the Independence Day speech of Prime Minister rendra Modi and questioned the latter’s silence on the recently-signed peace accord with NSCN(IM), stating that the silence on the accord has led to doubts regarding the provisions of the pact.
Referring to NSCN(IM) leader T Muivah’s speech on ‘ga independence day’, Gogoi said the ga leader’s statements had indicated that its demands for sovereignty and greater galim were not abandoned by the group.
Addressing a press conference here, Gogoi said: “Why did the prime minister remain silent on the ga peace accord in his Independence Day speech despite having termed it a historic one?”
“The government of Assam was not taken into confidence, we were not even given a hint about signing of the peace pact. Peace interlocutor N Ravi has himself admitted that he had consulted the Manipur CM, but not me,” Gogoi added.
Gogoi expressed concern over NSCN(IM)’s main demands for ‘sovereignty’ and ‘greater galim’ encompassing ga-inhabited areas of neighbouring states, including Assam, have not been forsaken by the group as evident from Muivah’s speech on ‘ga independence day’ on August 14, celebrated at Hebron in Dimapur.
“Our question is whether the framework for the NSCN(IM) peace accord includes the demand for galim,” he added, and reiterated Assam would not concede its territory to galand.