Assam CM asks Ulfa chief to join politics
A day after Ulfa chairman Arbinda Rajkhowa was granted bail, politics on insurgent groups has started in Assam with the ruling Congress and Opposition Asom Gana Parishad positioning themselves with pro-talk and anti-talk factions of the outfit.
If Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has invited the Ulfa chairman to join politics, the Asom Gana Parishad has carefully expressed its sympathy towards anti-talk faction led by elusive Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah by stressing the need of his presence in the peace talks for a long-lasting solution.
Mr Gogoi is among a few politicians in the state who on many occasions admitted having sympathy towards demands of militant organisations if sovereignty issue is left out.
Soon after the Ulfa chairman was granted bail, Mr Gogoi in a television interview said, “Let Rajkhowa join politics if he wants to serve people.”
In view of the forthcoming Assembly elections and the ruling Congress all set to capitalise the peace talks in the forthcoming elections in April, Opposition leader and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had very little option but to join the race to beat his opponent in the government. It was obvious on Friday when he said, “For a lasting solution to the insurgency problem in the state, it is of paramount importance that the Centre does not miss an opportunity to bring Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah to the discussion table.” He however admitted that the release of the Ulfa chairman and other leaders was a significant political development in the year 2010 as it had given an impetus to the peace process that was derailed on several occasions.
In what has obviously been seen as an attempt of opposition to counter the strategy of the ruling Congress party handling insurgency in a way that may be beneficial for the party in the forthcoming Assembly elections, Mr Mahanta also justified that the issues of exploitation and apathy towards Assam that the Ulfa had raised were genuine and needed to be addressed.
He asserted that peace parleys excluding Ulfa chief Paresh Baruah would not be fruitful. He also made it clear that political developments in Bangladesh has facilitated this opportunity but it must not be spoiled for political benefits in the elections.
The security analysts are seriously worried over the developments on insurgency front as entire exercise to find out a permanent solution to the problem of insurgency may turn out to be a contentious issue once the elections are declared. They attribute this to the failure of the government in creating a political consensus on the issue before starting the peace-talks.
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