Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, NE leaders condemn Muhammad Yunus for remarks on northeast India

GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed Nobel laureate and head of Bangladesh's interim govt, Md Yunus's remarks characterising the seven sister states of northeast India as landlocked and positioning Bangladesh as their guardian of ocean access, as offensive and utterly condemnable.
Sarma said that Yunus's statement underscores the persistent vulnerability narrative linked to India's strategic "Chicken's Neck" corridor through North Bengal bordering Bangladesh.
Sarma proposed the concept of underground road and rail routes through the Chicken's Neck and an alternate route from northeast to mainland India via Bhutan to address the situation.
Political leaders from the northeast, irrespective of party lines, like Gaurav Gogoi, N Biren Singh, and Pradyot Debbarma, also denounced Yunus's stance.
"Such provocative statements by Md Yunus must not be taken lightly, as they reflect deeper strategic considerations and longstanding agendas," Sarma wrote in a post on ‘X' on Tuesday.
Yunus characterised the seven states as landlocked, furthermore intimating that China could utilise Bangladesh to "make extensions."
"Historically, even internal elements within India have dangerously suggested severing this critical passageway (Chicken's Neck) to isolate the Northeast from the mainland physically. Therefore, it is imperative to develop more robust railway and road networks both underneath and around the Chicken's Neck corridor," Sarma wrote.
Sarma said that earlier certain separatist forces reiterated the ‘landlocked concept', but he hoped that the govt of India will take strong steps in this regard.
While reacting to Sarma's post on ‘X', Tipra Motha chief Pradyut Kishor Manikya Debbarma said, "Rather than spending billions on innovative and challenging engineering ideas, we might as well break up Bangladesh and have our own access to the sea."
"There are lakhs and lakhs of Tripuri, Garo, Khasi, and Chakma people who reside in Bangladesh in terrible conditions in their traditional lands. This should be utilised for our national interest and for their well-being," he added.
Senior Congress leader from Assam and deputy leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi said it was unfortunate that India's foreign policy has weakened to the point where even a nation whose independence India actively supported is now leaning toward strategic opposition." Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently wrote to Bangladesh on the occasion of its National Day, highlighting the "strong ties" between the two nations, but Gogoi rued that after that gesture from Modi, Muhammad Yunus' recent remarks about Northeast India and China are deeply concerning and unacceptable, as they undermine India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Former Manipur CM N Biren Singh said that it is apparent that Md Yunus and his interim govt in Bangladesh are attempting to frame the Northeast as a strategic pawn to serve their geopolitical ambitions. "Such provocative and irresponsible statements are unbecoming of a leader, and I condemn his remarks in the strongest possible terms," said Biren in a post on ‘X'.
Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim govt, during his recent four-day visit to China last week, characterised the seven states as landlocked, furthermore intimating that China could utilise Bangladesh to "make extensions."
Yunus, during his China visit speech, stated, "Seven states of India, eastern part of India, called seven sisters… they are landlocked country, landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean. We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region."