Gogoi promises dignity to nabbed ULFA leaders

GUWAHATI: In an apparent bid to pacify the anger of arrested ULFA leaders, who had resented handcuffing, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has assured thatv they will get due respect.

Earlier, jailed ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa had said: “Peace talks cannot be held with handcuffs on and for talks we need to be free.” Mr Rajkhowa repeated his demand when a leader of Peoples Committee for Peace Initiative of Assam (PCPIA) Lachit Bordoloi met him in Guwahati jail recently.

Mr Rajkhowa, along with nine others, including deputy chief of ULFA's military wing Raju Barua, surrendered in Meghalaya on December 4 last year.

The chief minister said: “When we talk, we will do it with full dignity. Till now, we have not received any formal communication from the jailed ULFA chairman for talks.”

Mr Gogoi added: "If ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua comes for talks, it’s good. Till now, only the followers have come. Barua is still outside our net.”

The chief minister ruled out talks on sovereignty. "There is no point wasting time (on talks for sovereignty). The elections have proved that people have rejected the sovereignty issue."

Mr Gogoi added that there is growing realisation among ULFA cadres about the futility of carrying on with the armed struggle.