Assam-Nagaland Border Row: MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi begins hunger strike against alleged incursions

GUWAHATI: Rupjyoti Kurmi, the Congress MLA from Assam who was yesterday fired upon by miscreants in a contested territory along the Assam-Nagaland border, has given the state government a twenty-four-hour deadline to resolve the decades-long border dispute and give "justice" to the Assamese locals who have been affected by the conflict. Today, he began an "unlimited hunger strike" against the suspected incursions and demanded the Assam government to evict the people from Nagaland who have settled in the area.

Yesterday, Kurmi urged the Government of Assam that the land reportedly belonging to Assam be vacated.

"I gave the government 24 hours to ensure this, but they are yet to take any step in this regard. I have been appealing the government to save the land of Assam as well as destroy the structures built on Assamese soil by people from across the border," Kurmi said.

Taking on the ruling dispensation for its apparent "neglect", Kurmi stated that "they have been uncuccessful in securing both the land and the people against these incursions."

Meanwhile, appeals to beef up his security detail in the aftermath of the firing incident are yet to be fulfilled.

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Gaurav Gogoi, Congress leader and MP representing Kaliabor Lok Sabha Constituency in Assam, has sought more security for his party mate Rupjyoti Kurmi after the latter was reportedly fired upon by villagers at a disputed area along the Assam-Nagaland border.

“This is regarding additional security for Shri Rupjyoti Kurmi, Hon’ble MLA Mariani. We all aware that yesterday he visited the Disai Valley Reserve Forest area under Jorhat district of Assam -Nagaland border to enquire about the border dispute and gauge the situation,” Gogoi wrote in a letter that he dashed off to Assam’s Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta.

“He had a narrow escape from around 15 to 20 rounds of shots were fired targeting him by the miscreants right after they entered the Disai Valley Reserve Forest area. He was accompanied by two personal security officer and three state police constables for his security,” he added.

Meanwhile, Additional DGP (Law and Order) G P Singh has been sent by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to Mariani to probe the incident.

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