Just a day after claiming that the Assam government did not do enough to contain the ethnic strife between the Rabhas and Garo tribes in areas bordering Assam, Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma said that both the states governments are trying their best to ensure peace and normalcy.
The ethnic strife that began on January 1 between Rabhas of Assam and Garos of Meghalaya has killed eight people and displaced more than 10,000 people on both sides of the state borders with sporadic bouts of violence still engulfing both states.
"The strife is between two communities that reside in the border areas of Assam and Meghalaya and both the state governments are trying our best. We are taking it up with the government of India also because to contain such kind of ethnic strife, definitely you need a firm hand and this is what both the governments are doing," Dr Sangma said.
Officials of Assam and Meghalaya administration are in touch with each other and they are appealing to all sections of people including political leaders, religious leaders and the civil society to come together and form peace committees and prevail upon people to preach the message of harmony, he added.
Dr Sangma said that he has asked Defence Minister A K Antony to deploy army personnel to contain the violence that reportedly has spread to some interiors parts in both states.
"We are constantly in touch with (the Centre)
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