AGP colluding with ULFA, says Assam chief minister

GUWAHATI - Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi Tuesday levelled serious charges at the states main opposition Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) by saying that it colluded with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in targeting Congress leaders ahead of the assembly elections.

Why is the ULFA threatening only Congress leaders and not other politicians? All indications are that the ULFA and the AGP are hand in glove, the chief minister told journalists.

Opposing the peace talks, the ULFA faction led by the elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, in an e-mailed statement Saturday, threatened to attack Congress leaders and warned people against participating in party rallies in the run-up to the assembly elections.

The ULFA Monday made an abortive attempt to assassinate Congress leader Bhola Shah at Tengapani in the eastern district of Tinsukia and fired indiscriminately outside his house.

Shah was not at home during the attack. The militants also tried to abduct his son but failed.

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, senior AGP leader and former chief minister, had gone on record saying Paresh Baruah should not come for talks now. This is another indicator of the nexus between the ULFA and the AGP, Gogoi said.

The ULFA in the past killed at least a dozen Congress leaders during elections, beginning the 1996 assembly polls.

The ULFA faction statement said the Congress was responsible for dividing the outfit by luring some leaders into holding peace talks with the government.

The first round of ULFA-government peace talks was held Feb 10 in New Delhi, with the outfit’s chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa leading the process.