CHANGLANG, 2 Nov: The Tirap, Changlang & Longding People’s Forum recently filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution before the Supreme Court of India, challenging the 20 April, 2023 memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, in the presence of union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The forum in a release on Thursday informed that it filed the writ petition “in the name of Jungkam Tikhak & Ors, who are the headman and public leaders of the affected villages of Tinsukia-Changlang division.”
“On 16 October, Chief Justice of India Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra heard the petition and the court, vide its order dated 16.10.2023, directed to list the case on 6 November, which is the date on which the civil suit filed by the state of Assam (Original Suit No 2 of 1988, State of Assam Vs Union of India) is listed for hearing before the Supreme Court of India,” the forum added.
“Senior advocate Salman Khurshid and P Yobin – the counsels representing the forum – submitted that the people of eastern Arunachal are aggrieved and are challenging Clause 1.5, Sub-clause 10 of the MoU, because the clause has affected Mungkam, Wara, Honju, Malu Gaon-1, Malu Gaon-2, No 3 Molong (Langching), all inhabited by people of the Tangsa tribe who have been deprived of their basic fundamental rights,” the release said.
“The MoU has also affected Tirap Sakan, Phinbiro-1, Phinbiro-2, Rangrinkan, Yopakan, Hachengkan, Haseng, Kothung, Kongsa, Longpha, Lyngok and Longtoi, who have lost their agricultural land. It was also contended that the MoU was entered in total disregard of the Namsai Declaration-2022 and the report of the regional committee and various representations filed by the forum.
“The MoU has rendered the affected people landless and will be subject to losing of the ancestral and traditional land,” the forum claimed.