Guwahati: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on December 22 called for widening the strategically vital Silliguri Corridor, often called the Chicken Neck, by at least another 22 kilometers to bolster national security and connectivity. Speaking at an event organised by News 18, Assam CM Sarma said that when India liberated Bangladesh in 1971, PM Indira Gandhi would have told Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to give 16 kilometers of land to widen the Chicken Neck from India’s security perspective. He said, “Pakistan surrendered, and Bangladesh had a gratitude to India. It was the best time to widen the Chicken Neck by taking 16-20 kilometers of land. We could have given them some alternative land to compensate for it. It was a minimum gratitude for the sacrifice made by the Indian Army. But Indira Gandhi couldn’t do the minimum task.” CM Sarma further said that if PM Narendra Modi had been there at that time, it would have happened easily.
Indira Gandhi couldn’t do that, and now a country like Bangladesh threatens us on the Chicken Neck. Mentioning the anti-India slogan raised by people like Shargeel Imam, CM said, because of Indira Gandhi’s fault, anti-Indians threaten us from JNU on Chicken Neck. The Assam CM appealed to the government of India that, by force or by diplomacy, we have to take 20-22 kilometers of land from Bangladesh to widen the Chicken Neck and take the Northeast out of threats.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also said that surgery is needed when the disease cannot be cured with medicine. Over the last 11 years, India has had a very friendly relationship with Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership. So any attempt to widen the Chicken Neck would have disrupted the friendly relationship. The time for a surgery is best when people like Muhammad Yunus run the government. If they talk about Chicken Neck too much, we will definitely replace it. It is just a matter of time; either the government or the Army itself will take the step to remove the threat to the Chicken Neck at some point, CM Sarma added.
It should be noted that following the political turmoil in Bangladesh in August 2024, many leaders of the country, including the interim government chief, Muhammad Yunus, have been vocal about India’s Chicken Neck. Of late, several former Bangladesh Army officials and student leaders have been talking about capturing the Chicken Neck to cut off communication with Northeast India. But it is now a matter of time before we see how mighty Bharat and its armed forces respond to the threats to the strategically important Siliguri Corridor.
