Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today lambasted the ULFA leadership for refusing to come forward for a negotiated settlement despite repeated invitations by the government, and said a section of top leaders of the outfit were not at all interested in settling the issue. The CM also suggested that the issue of flushing out the ULFA from Bangladesh should figure in the forthcoming SAARC summit in Islamabad. ‘‘While the ULFA has been insisting on talks with certain pre-conditions, including a discussion on the issue of sovereignty, the common people in Assam have already made it clear that they (the people) are not in favour of a sovereign Assam,’’ Gogoi told a press conference here. He said the people were rather in favour of a developed Assam, ‘‘a clear message that the ULFA leaders are pretending not to understand’’. ‘‘The people are also in favour of talks. They want that the militants should come forward for talks without any precondition. The ULFA should follow the example of the NSCN(IM), which despite having initially demanded a sovereign state, is now negotiating for a settlement within the purview of the Constitution,’’ Gogoi stated. He said he has been repeatedly asking the PM to exert pressure on Bangladesh and Myanmar to flush out the ULFA and other militant groups from those countries. ‘‘The PM can raise the issue in the larger interest of putting an end to terrorism in the entire sub-continent.’’ Gogoi also expressed dismay over ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa’s reported appeal to the Chinese authorities to provide his cadre shelter in that country. He said the boys should instead return home, give up arms and become partners in the development process. ‘‘The ULFA already has camps in Bangladesh. Now they are looking for shelter inside China. This is very dangerous. I am sure China, being a friendly country, will not entertain them,’’ he said. The CM also described Bangladesh as an unfriendly country and said as long as the ULFA remained in the grip of that country and the ISI of Pakistan, it cannot think for the development of Assam. The chief minister also lashed out at the All Assam Students’ Union for its reported move to form an ‘‘Asomiya Sena’’ in the lines of the Shiv Sena, saying such a move was not in the best interest of the state and its people.
