Discord over ga accord

Rijiju hits back at Congress for ‘U-Turn’

‘Sonia Gandhi parading Northeast CMs to undermine peace pact’

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Aug 8: New Delhi today said the peace deal signed with the NSCN(IM) on August 3 is just a "framework" agreement which will pave the way for a fil settlement of the ga issue and assured that the "interests" and "sentiments" of the states of Assam, Manipur and Aruchal Pradesh will not be "bypassed".

Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju also slammed the Congress for making a U-turn on the peace agreement.

"Initially, the Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur and Aruchal Pradesh had welcomed the peace agreement. Then suddenly, they were summoned to Delhi and paraded before the media to criticize the government. This is not good. One should not play politics in such matters," Rijiju told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.

He said the Northeast needs "complete peace" and the agreement with NSCN(IM) was a "positive step" in that direction.

"This problem had been hanging fire for too long. Questions were being asked as to why no settlement has been reached," the minister said.

Asked why secrecy was being maintained on the agreement, Rijiju said, "It is just a framework agreement. There are no point by point clauses to tell people. To reach a fil settlement, we need to put in some confidence building measures and the agreement is just part of it. There is no question of keeping anything secret."