Gaurav Gogoi calls for NEDA's disbandment over unresolved Northeast border disputes

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Gaurav Gogoi on July 9 launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in the Northeast over the prolonged inter-state boundary disputes, calling the situation a "complete failure" of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).

Speaking to reporters in Guwahati, Gogoi said the resolution of inter-state border disputes should have been a top priority for both the Centre and the state governments.

"This is one of the most important issues that the Centre and the state government should have resolved. The entire Northeast has a forum called the North East Democratic Alliance, whose chairman was the Chief Minister of Assam. If, till today, the boundaries of Northeast India have not been resolved despite the BJP being in power at the Centre since 2014, then I think it is a complete failure of the NEDA," he said.

The Congress leader said the regional political alliance had failed to achieve one of its key objectives and demanded that it be dissolved.

"NEDA should be disbanded," Gogoi asserted.

He also urged that the pending inter-state boundary cases before the Supreme Court be expedited so that the decades-old disputes could be resolved at the earliest.

"I hope the cases that are in the Supreme Court are speeded up so that these inter-state disputes can be resolved at the earliest," he added.

His remarks come amid continuing efforts by several northeastern states, including Assam, to settle long-pending border disputes through both bilateral talks and legal proceedings.