NEW DELHI, May 5 � Blasting the NDA for its misadventure, the AICC today reiterated its support for the original Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh.
Talking to newsmen, AICC spokesman Gaurav Gogoi, when asked about the LBA in the light of the strongly worded letter written by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to the Prime Minister saying that the State should be taken into confidence, said the Agreement which was the protocol signed between former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, was a historic step post-1974 pact between Indira Gandhi and Mujibur Rahman.
The Land Boundary Agreement will clearly demarcate the boundary between India and Bangladesh and this can result in 100 per cent fencing, which will ensure that borders are well patrolled and areas are well administered.
�This Bill was always in India�s and Assam�s interests and that is why the position of the Congress on this Bill has been consistent right from the beginning that Assam must be taken on board. We also had the State government write a strongly-worded letter,� he said.
�We were surprised to see that there was a certain statement in the Press that Assam might be excluded from the Land Boundary Agreement. We talk about cooperative federalism, and then why was the State government not consulted on such an important subject that affects Assam? It shows that the Government of India is actually not genuinely concerned about Assam�s interests,� Gogoi said.