Land Handover to Bangladesh
Assam assembly called to discuss issue Oct 17
Northeastern Indian state of Assam has convened a special session of the legislature on October 17 to discuss handing over of Boraibari, a village in Assam's Dhubri district, to Bangladesh.
The disputed land comprising 193 acres came under the agreement on land boundary and exchange of enclaves signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Dhaka.
Opposition parties Asom Gano Parishad, BJP and student bodies like All Assam Students' Union have been flaying Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi ever since the deal was signed on September 6.
Gogoi, however, maintained that Assam has not parted with any portion of its land and that the two countries have amicably settled the land disputes pending since the partition.
AGP leader and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said Boraibari belongs to India while Gogoi blamed Mahanta for leaving some portion of the Indian side outside the barbed-wire fence along the international border with Bangladesh when AGP was in power.
The special session of Assam assembly was called by the state governor to discuss the issue.
Meanwhile, BJP national spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy said his party would raise in parliament the land swap deal with Bangladesh alleging the Congress-led UPA government went ahead with signing such an important agreement without taking the opposition into confidence.
He also recalled that the Teesta water sharing treaty could not be signed due to last-minute reservations voiced by Paschimbanga Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
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