Shillong, April 17: The second phase of border talks between Meghalaya and Assam to resolve the remaining six areas of difference will resume after the Assam Assembly elections, Hill State People’s Democratic Party president KP Pangniang said on Friday.
“Recently, the chief minister told us that as and when the Assam election is over, they will resume the border talks,” Pangniang told reporters.
He said the party had submitted a reminder to the government last year to continue the talks.
“Last year, we submitted a reminder from the party to the government to continue the second phase of border talks with Assam,” he said.
Pangniang added that the HSPDP would meet the chief minister again in the coming days to press for the talks.
According to him, settlement of the interstate boundary with Assam remains a key priority for the party and would be “another milestone” for the state government to take forward.
HSPDP undecided on Shillong bypoll
Meanwhile, Pangniang said the party had not yet decided on contesting the Shillong bye-election and will take a final call after a meeting of its Central Executive Committee.
“We will call the Central Executive Committee in the near future and take a final call on it. As of now, we are yet to take any decision,” he said.
On the Women’s Reservation Bill, he welcomed the Centre’s move and expressed hope that it would be implemented in Meghalaya.
“We are so happy to see that the government has passed the bill to give reservation to women. We are hoping that this reservation of women will come to the light of the day even in the state of Meghalaya,” he said.
Asked about the agitation over the proposed tourism project on Lumpongdeng Island, Pangniang said the government’s decision not to build infrastructure there was a positive signal.
Official language status to Khasi, Garo welcomed
The HSPDP, meanwhile, hailed the decision of the Conrad K Sangma-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government to recognize Khasi and Garo as official languages, calling it a strong push for their inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
“(We) congratulate the chief minister and his cabinet because of his able and dynamic leadership, he has taken this decision to recognize the Khasi and Garo languages in Meghalaya,” Pangniang said.
He said in the year 2018, the MDA government with one voice had passed a resolution in the Assembly urging the Centre to include the two languages in the Eighth Schedule.
“(The government’s decision) recognizing the Khasi and Garo languages as the official languages will send a strong message to the government of India to give the recognition and include these two languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India,” Pangniang stated while urging the government of the day to aggressively pursue the matter with the government of India.
Stating that the recognition of the two languages have been a long pending demand of the party, the HSPDP president said, “We have flagged this issue in the manifesto of the party since Hoping Stone Lyngdoh as the leader of the party till date. We have submitted the demand for amendment of the Associate Official Language to the chief minister on August 14, 2024 and on July 24, 2025. We have mentioned why we need the recognition of the languages.”
As a constituent of the ruling coalition, Pangniang said the HSPDP was pleased the issue was taken up.
