Guwahati: The renewed demand for plebiscite by the anti-talks faction of the ULFA or the ULFA (Independent) has been rejected by Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi terming it untenable given that people of Assam have been overwhelmingly participating in all elections held in the state under the provision of the India Constitution.
Gogoi said that the writing on the wall was very clear for the ULA to see, there was no need for holding plebiscite in Assam on ULFA’s demand for a sovereign Assam. He said the ULFA anti-talks faction
should rather shun violence and come over ground and join politics to serve the people in a legitimate way.
“My government is ready to propose before the Centre for amnesty to Paresh Barua if he chooses to come over ground,” Gogoi stated adding final decision in this matter however rests with the Centre.The fugitive, self-styled commander-in-chief of proscribed the ULFA (I), Paresh Baruah stated that political leaders of India should learn from countries like Great Britain and Canada and hold plebiscite on ULFA’s sustained demand for separation of Assam from India and thereby find a final political solution to the vexed problem.
“Citing that Great Britain recently held plebiscite on the demand for separation of Scotland and solved the issue for good without any bloodshed, the ULFA leader stated that mindset of Indian politician has to change for facilitating a solution to the ULFA’s demand for a sovereign Assam. Political leaders in India don’t have courage to take such steps,” the ULFA leader said adding that he outfit was ready to accept any result that may come out of a fair plebiscite.
Meanwhile, reacting to Tarun Gogoi’s comment that ULFA (I) was having links with fundamentalist forces,
Paresh Barua dared Gogoi to prove ULFA’s link with fundamentalist forces.
“A section of political leaders always tries to divide people of Assam on religious line for narrow political gains; ULFA will
try its best to foil sub divisive design of political leaders. There should not be any majority or minority sections in Assam where all sections in the society have been living in harmony since days of history,” Baruah stated.
The ULFA leader who was once deeply rooted in Bangladesh, stated Jamatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) that tries to spread its tentacles to Assam, was created by some political parties in Bangladesh to create political chaos in that country and now the JMB had spun out of control of those parties.
He is now suspected to have taken shelter in Myanmar with help of China.The leader of pro-talks faction of the ULFA, Arabinda Rajkhowa has, on the other hand, expressed concern over rise in religious fundamentalism in Assam where nine JMB linkmen were arrested recently by Assam police.
“The threat could be more serious than we can fathom. People as well as the government need to be cautious in order to defeat the evil designs of fundamentalist forces,” Rajkhowa said and any fundamentalist forces though its cadres went for training in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh
