Guwahati, Oct 30 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that his cabinet colleague Biswajit Daimary had referred to the pro-talks ULFA faction that has signed a peace accord with the government while recently praising the militant outfit by saying that it had “protected the state from outside forces for over five decades”.
Sarma maintained that after the peace pact was inked, the ULFA is technically no longer a banned outfit; and differentiated it from the hardcore Paresh Barua-led faction, which rechristened itself as ULFA (Independent) after remaining out of the dialogue process.
A video clip emerged in which Daimary was seen making the statements at the central foundation day celebration of the Matak Yuva Chhatra Sanmilan in Tinsukia’s Kakopathar area on October 27.
The sports and youth welfare minister said although some people may criticise ULFA, “no force could do anything to destabilise Assam only because of the underground organisation”.
“The people who provided ULFA with its core leadership were from the Moran and Matak communities. Even Paresh Baruah (ULFA chief) is from the Matak community,” he had added.
Asked about Daimary’s statements on the sidelines of a government event in Tinsukia on Thursday, the chief minister said he has spoken about it with his cabinet colleague, although he hasn’t seen the video himself.
“I asked him about it. He told me he meant the ULFA faction which has returned to the path of peace, and not the Paresh Barua group,” Sarma said.
“We have signed a peace pact with the ULFA, and it is no longer banned, technically. The ULFA (I) faction is different,” he added.
The pro-talks faction of the ULFA, led by its self-styled chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, had entered into the peace pact with the central and state governments in December 2024, though the hardliner, secessionist faction under self-styled commander-in-chief Barua has continued its militancy. PTI SSG SSG ACD
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