Peace agreement with ULFA soon: Assam DGP

Guwahati, Oct 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) The discussions with the pro-talks faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to strike a peace deal is in its final stage, Assam DGP G.P. Singh said on Friday.

"The process to sign a peace agreement with the ULFA is in its final stage. I am hopeful that it will be done within the next few days," Singh said.

Earlier, the pro-talk faction of the ULFA expressed its displeasure with the draft peace deal that the Central government provided to them for initiating the talks.

Anup Chetia, the general secretary of the pro-talk faction of the ULFA, stated that their battle is to defend Assam from illegal infiltrators and to safeguard the Constitutional rights of the indigenous population in the state.

He asserted that without a few of their core demands being met, the signing of the peace agreement is not possible.

"Because of ongoing illegal infiltration, the indigenous population in Assam is eroding into a minority. We requested that 102 of Assam's assembly constituencies out of a total of 126 be set aside for indigenous people as part of the peace pact," Chetia said.

He also said that they earlier presented 12 demands before the Central government, including updating of the NRC, land rights for indigenous groups, ST status for six indigenous tribes, the declaration of the Assam flood as a national calamity, and an 88 per cent seat quota for indigenous people.

"The seat reservation is one of the demands that has not yet been approved by the Central government, however, most of our demands have been accepted by the centre," he said.

"We think the government will take the rest of our demands into consideration since they are not unreasonable," Chetia added. Notably, the other faction known as the ULFA-I led by Paresh Baruah has not come on the table for talks.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma appealed to Baruah to lay down their arms and join the mainstream.

Source: IANS