Mugdha Das

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slams Muhammad Yunus

Digital Desk: The remarks by Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladesh interim government's chief advisor, on the Northeast states of India have evoked sharp reactions.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed the Bangladesh interim government and its chief advisor, Muhammad Yunus, for the remarks on Northeast India.

CM Sarma termed the remarks of Yunus as offensive and strongly condemnable.

Muhammad Yunus referred to Northeast India as landlocked and positioned Bangladesh as its guardian of ocean access.

Notably, a video of Yunus’s remarks, apparently made during his four-day trip to China, is doing the rounds on social media.

In the video, Yunus is heard saying that the Northeast states of India are a landlocked region and have no way to reach out to the ocean.

He, in fact, claimed Bangladesh to be the guardian of the ocean for the region.

Making this comment, Yunus stated that China could use Bangladesh’s access to open waters for extending its economy.

Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while referring to Muhammad Yunus’s remarks, highlighted the strategic vulnerability of the Chicken’s Neck corridor, which connects the Northeast to the rest of India.

The Assam CM further stressed enhancing more robust railway and road networks around and beneath the Chicken’s Neck, along with exploring alternative routes connecting the Northeast to mainland India, bypassing the corridor.

CM Sarma stressed an urgent need for strengthening infrastructure in the Northeast in light of such provocations.

He further claimed that such provocative statements by Muhammad Yunus must not be taken lightly, as they reflect deeper strategic considerations and longstanding agendas.