Cong has links with ULFA, says Bardhan

Accusing the Congress of having similar link with some other insurgent outfit in the North-East, he said this party was also playing one ethnic group against the other for political gain. Bardhan who had toured Assam, Nagaland and Meghalaya in the North-East said the root cause ofinsurgency in the areas was due to economic and industrial backwardness of the region. For this he blamed the Congress since it had ruled the country for the major part of the 50 years since Independence.

He claimed that special attention to the region was paid only after the United Front Government had come to power at the Centre and special economic packaged announced by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and subsequently followed by his I K Gujral. He expressed satisfaction at the BJP-led coalition government decision to continue this special economic package and said that any addition to the Rs 6,100 crore package will be an additional boost.