The Congress on Tuesday announced a seven-member committee that will visit the areas affected by the violence in the Assam-Mizoram border dispute .
The panel is expected to prepare a report after visiting the areas on Wednesday.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the escalation of violence that resulted in the death of six Assam police personnel.
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In the exchange of fire between the police forces of the two States on Monday, over 60 people were injured, including Superintendent of Police of Assam’s Cachar district Nimbalkar Vaibhav Chandrakant.
“Heartfelt condolences to the families of those who’ve been killed. I hope the injured recover soon. HM has failed the country yet again by sowing hatred and distrust into the lives of people. India is now reaping its dreadful consequences,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted and posted a video of the violence on his Twitter handle.
The border clashes come just days after Mr. Shah’s Northeast visit, during which he met Chief Ministers of the region and asked them to resolve the inter-State border disputes.
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The Congress said people in the area were living in an “atmosphere of fear as it has become a war-like situation”.
MP demands probe
Lok Sabha member from Assam Gaurav Gogoi, who had moved an adjournment motion to discuss the issue in Parliament, said, “The Home Minister should take the responsibility as the police build-up didn’t take place overnight but has been going on for months. Such a situation has been developing between Assam and Arunachal, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Tomorrow, our team will go to the spot to get a sense of the real situation. Accepting responsibility, the Home Minister should order an inquiry”.
Besides Mr. Gogoi, the Congress team includes Lok Sabha member Pradyut Bordoloi, Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Bhupen Bora and Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia.
“Both the Assam and Mizoram governments are part of the North East Democratic Alliance [NEDA], an alliance that was formed only to win elections but has totally failed the Northeast people when it comes to maintaining peace,” Ms. Dev told the media.
Assam MP seeks apology
Senior BJP leader and Lok Sabha member from Assam, Dilip Saikia, targeted the Mizoram government and demanded an apology.
“This type of incident will demoralise the spirit of Indian nationalism. The inter-State border issue is decades old. But such an incident has happened for the first time. The Mizoram government should apologise to Assam government and its people,” he said.
“What Mizoram police, along with local people, did yesterday is condemnable. There was a video showing Mizo people celebrating the killing of Assamese police personnel. I condemn this barbaric attack on Assamese people and police,” he added.