The Mizo National Front (MNF) has asserted that it completed around 90% of the groundwork required for the relocation of the Assam Rifles headquarters from the heart of Aizawl city to Zokhawsang, 15 kilometers away. This statement was made by former Deputy Chief Minister Tawnluia just days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Aizawl for a ceremonial land transfer between the Assam Rifles and the Mizoram government.
The ceremony, which took place on Saturday, marked the relocation of the paramilitary force from Aizawl to Zokhawsang, a more rural and less densely populated area. The event was attended by prominent figures, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, and Director of the Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka.
During the ceremony, senior representatives from both the state government and Assam Rifles exchanged two maps—one showing the new location of the Assam Rifles at Zokhawsang and the other detailing the land to be handed over to the Mizoram government by the Assam Rifles.
The formal transfer of the land is scheduled for next month, following the finalization of the transfer agreement signed between the Assam Rifles and the Mizoram government in October of the previous year. Tawnluia’s comments came during a meeting of the Melriat MNF Unit at BNRGSK Hall.
In his statement, Tawnluia asserted that the relocation of the Assam Rifles had long been a priority for the MNF. He noted that Laldenga, Mizoram’s first Chief Minister, had initiated the plan for relocating the Assam Rifles and had begun preparations for Zokhawsang. Furthermore, he stated that former Chief Minister Zoramthanga, also from the MNF, had built all the camps for the Assam Rifles in the new location and constructed a road, spending crores of rupees to facilitate their needs.
Tawnluia also emphasized that the groundwork for the relocation was largely completed by Laldenga and Zoramthanga. He criticized the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) for taking full credit, arguing that the current government had only completed the final stages of the process.
“The groundwork was largely completed by our leaders,” Tawnluia said. “It’s wrong for the ZPM to claim that this work is their own after only one year in power. Laldenga and Zoramthanga had already done most of the hard work.”
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