ULFA, Centre, Assam govt sign tripartite peace accord
The pro-talks faction of ULFA, a separatist outfit was founded in 1979 to wage an armed struggle for an independent Assam.
In a shot in the arm for the ruling BJP, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA)’s pro-talks faction on Friday signed a tripartite Memorandum of Settlement with the Centre and the Assam government in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The ULFA pro-talks faction was represented by a 16-member delegation led by its chairperson Arabinda Rajkhowa. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma was also present.
Two top leaders of the Rajkhowa group have been in the National Capital since last week. According to PTI, the outfit’s general secretary, Anup Chetia, held talks with peace interlocutor A K Mishra on Tuesday. Along with Mishra, who is the government’s adviser on Northeast affairs, Intelligence Bureau’s Director Tapan Deka was part of the talks with the group.
The pro-talks faction of ULFA, a separatist outfit, was founded in 1979 by a group of 20 youngsters from Upper Assam districts to wage an armed struggle for an independent Assam.
The group had expressed willingness for talks on several occasions but had been firm on its stand on ‘sovereignty’.
During the Assembly election campaigns in Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland earlier this year, the BJP emphasised the decline in militancy and the relative peace in the Northeast since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014. Last month, Amit Shah announced the signing of a peace agreement with the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) in Manipur, a Meitei separatist group. And, now the ULFA accord will only bolster the party’s narrative.
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