Lalthanhawala

Shillong, March 10: Mizoram chief minister Lalthanhawla today criticised Bru (Reang) leaders for making money out of the Bru refugee issue as the return of the refugees to Mizoram from Tripura was progressing tardily.

Lalthanhawla, who was here today to attend the attestation parade of the recruits of the Assam Regimental Centre, told reporters that while the Bru leaders were making money, the Centre had failed to understand the ground reality.

“The Centre is giving money to settle the Bru refugees but the Bru leaders make hay while the sun shines,” he said.

“People from Delhi know nothing about the ground reality,” he added, indicating that the issue of some Bru leaders misusing the Centre’s money was serious.

On February 18, after visiting the six refugee camps at Kanchanpur in North Tripura district, Union home minister P. Chidambaram had asked the nearly 37,000 Bru refugees to return to Mizoram.

The Union minister had also said that besides the proposed financial package of Rs 33 crore from DoNER, the home ministry was also giving financial assistance for the proper rehabilitation of the Bru people.

Chidambaram had also promised to visit Mizoram sometime this month to settle the issue once and for all and to facilitate the return of all the displaced people to Mizoram.