GUWAHATI, Dec 15 ? The Assam Legislative Assembly today adopted a resolution condemning the recent blasts in different parts of the State and killing of innocent persons and called upon all the militant outfits to come forward for talks for restoration peace in Assam. The resolution was moved by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and was passed unanimously by the House.
Earlier, replying to a discussion on the law and order situation in the State in the wake of a series of blasts, the Chief Minister expressed doubts on the sincerity of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to come for talks. He said that by killing innocent people, the militant outfit sent a wrong signal and ?under the circumstances, I have doubts on the sincerity of the outfit on the issue of talks.?
He pointed out that the common people, who have nothing to do with terrorism are the worst victims of the reign of terror let loose by the ultras. He said that the ULFA lost public support and are looking for soft targets to terrorise the common masses. He also described the recent blasts as acts of cowardice.
Gogoi admitted that it is the responsibility of the Government to give protection to life and property of the people and assured that the Government would deal with any kind of violence firmly. He admitted that the forces available with the State Government are not adequate to deal with the situation.
He revealed that the Centre agreed to provide Rs 13 crore to raise a battalion of India Reserve Battalion, but an amount of Rs 39 crore would be required to do so, while, on the other hand, the State Government would also have to bear the recurring expenditure of the battalion.
The Chief Minister said that the NDFB responded positively to his appeal for a cease-fire to pave the way for political dialogue, but the ULFA is yet to respond. He pointed out that cease-fire with the militants cannot be a one way traffic and called upon the ULFA to abjure violence to come for talks.
He expressed the view that the people of Assam are not in favour of Independence as demanded by the ULFA and said, ?if the ULFA actually has the public support, it should contest the elections and assume power in the State.? He also pointed out that the NSCN has also realised the futility of arms struggle to come for talks for political solution of their problems and called upon the ULFA to do so in the interest of development of the State.
Stressing the need for mobilising public opinion against terrorism, the Chief Minister said that the Government would extend all possible support to anyone who can bring the ultras to the negotiation table. He said that he extended help to noted litterateur Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami, who tried to bring the ULFA to the negotiation table and ? I also fixed the appointment of Dr Goswami with the Prime Minister. The ULFA termed me as a puppet Chief Minister, but I did not take it as a prestige issue.?
Earlier, initiating the discussion, leader of the AGP Legislature Party Brindaban Goswami expressed serious concern over the series of blasts that rocked the State in the last couple of days and alleged that the Government failed in its responsibility to protect the life and property of the people.
He condemned the blasts and killing of innocent people and called upon the Government to identify the loopholes in the security system and plug it. He called for unconditional talks between the Government and the ULFA and said that the AGP is ready to cooperate with the Government for bringing peace to the State.
Bimalangshu Roy (BJP) condemned the blasts but at the same time, alleged that the Government failed to protect the lives of innocent people. He said that the BJP never supported any kind of violence and pointed out that the NDA Government brought the POTA to deal with terrorists firmly. He accused the Congress of adopting a soft line towards the militants and said that the Congress Government in the State has no moral right to stay in power because of its failure to protect the lives of innocents.
Dilip Kumar Saikia (AGP) also condemned the blasts and said that the law should be equal for all. In this context, he referred to the confessional statements by arrested ULFA cadres following the Dhemaji blast and demanded that the report of the enquiry of the blast should be made public. Pabindra Deka (Ind) referred to the alleged links of Ministers with the ULFA and called upon the outfit to stop killing of innocents.
Hemendra Nath Brahma (BDLP) condemned the killings of innocents by the ultras and at the same time, called upon the Government to stop harassment of common people in the name of anti-insurgency operations. He said that the Army has no right to kill innocent people of Assam in the name of launching operations against militants. Pranab Kalita (Ind) suggested that the House should adopt a resolution calling upon the ultras to come to the negotiation table.
Earlier in the day the House witnessed noisy scenes as soon as it assembled for the day following exchange of words between the Ruling and Opposition members. As soon as the House assembled, Brindaban Goswami demanded that the question hour should be suspended to allow discussion on the law and order situation in the State in the wake of series of blasts in the last two days. The ruling party members opposed it and the Speaker Prithibi Majhi assured to allot time later in the day for discussion on the issue to pacify the opposition members.