People against sovereign Assam: Gogoi

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi stressed that he was not optimistic of a negotiated solution to the ULFA insurgency till the outfit’s leaders continue to stay in Bangladesh. The Chief Minister regretted the negative attitude of ULFA towards solving it’s issues through negotiation.

He however, reiterated the readiness of the Government to hold talks with the militant outfits without any precondition and apprised the House of the preparedness of his Government to extend all sorts of help to all those who want to meet the ULFA leaders in Bangladesh for facilitating a negotiated settlement to ULFA insurgency. He also sought cooperation from all sections of the people, including the Opposition, to bring an end to bandh culture.

Asserting that application of forces alone would not be able to solve the problems of conflict and insurgency, he said that his Government was thus laying emphasis on accelerating development activities, with more focus on the backward areas.

Claiming that overwhelming majority of the State’s people are against the demand for a sovereign Assam, the Chief Minister said that ULFA had not responded positively to the appeals of the Government for settling the issues through negotiation.

The outfit regrouped misusing the Government’s unparalleled step of unilateral suspension of the Army operations against it. This belied all hopes of the Government and the people for a negotiated settlement of the contentious issues raised by the militant outfit, said the Chief Minister.

The militants have now changed their tactics. They have become more heinous and started targeting the innocent people, rather than the security forces. He also alleged that the NDFB, which is on ceasefire now, has been violating the ceasefire agreement.

He alleged that the cult of violence in the State started with the Nellie massacre and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) people were involved in it. He also claimed that the leaders of the Opposition party like Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, were also connected in scams involving sizeable amounts of public money.

But they could manage to prevent the CBI from filing charge sheets in connection with those cases, said the Chief Minister.

Despite the orgy of violence perpetrated by the militant outfit, the State has been able to continue its march on to development steadily. The over all law and order situation in the State is improving, claimed the Chief Minister.

The indicators of the improvement made in the overall law and order situation are there for all to see, he said, adding, now, the State’s GDP growth rate is 7.6 per cent and the target set for it during the next financial year is 9 per cent.

The flow of tourists to the State is also increasing. Against the 10,00,700 number of tourists visiting the State during the time of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP)-led Government, 67 lakh tourists visited the State during the current year, he said.

Against the 8,399 industrial units during the AGP’s time, the State has now 13,775 industrial units. Moreover, number of aircrafts and trains operating between the state and outside the state destinations these days have also gone up to a large extent compared to the AGP days, he said.

The academic atmosphere in the State has also improved significantly. The increasing pass percentage in the final examinations is its proof, claimed the Chief Minister.

Challenging the figures quoted by the Opposition members, the Chief Minister also claimed that the death of civilians in the incidents of violence triggered by the militant outfits of the State have come down greatly. Compared to the death of 1,536 civilians at their hands during the AGP rule, militants killed 1,311 civilians during the past seven years of Congress rule, he said.

Similarly, against 400 security personnel killed during the AGP’s period, the corresponding figure during the Congress rule is 208, he said.

The Chief Minister reiterated the stand of his Government for granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the six ethnic groups. “The Government will continue its efforts to ensure the ST status to these ethnic groups,” he said.

The Chief Minister claimed that it was his Government, which had in fact initiated the move to modernise the Police Department. Against the allocation of Rs 642 crore made by the AGP, the Congress-led Government in the State has now allocated Rs 1,033 crore for the Department.

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