Manik Sarkar government is embarking on a new bold experiment to bring ‘misguided youth’ to the mainstream. And it is no booby trap. Some emotional blackmailing that’s all. So, militants need no fear. Worry they have to, no doubt.

The new plan involves holding of “Peace meetings “in all the 40 blocks. Families of the ‘misguided youth’ will be encouraged to come forward to make direct appeals for a return to the main stream.

" We are quite satisfied by the way the militants have responded to our peace initiatives and hope the new approach will also pay rich dividend”,  for peace”, ICAT minister Anil Sarkar said after a cabinet meeting in Agartala.

When Manik Sarkar took over as the chief minister of the fifth Left Front government on March 7, his first decision was to offer a carrot and a stick. It did not appear to have met with much response though some 142 militants have laid down their arms - 89 from NLFT (Biswamohan), 2 from NLFT (N), 10 from ATTF and 41 from BNCT.

There is as yet no indication of any major shift in the approach of the militants. The gruesome massacre at Simna colony and Mohorcherra on May 7 bears this out. In fact, of late there has been sudden spurt of militancy with ATTF, ULFA and MPLF floating a joint platform and launching 'Operation Freedom'.

Anil Sarkar, who also holds the Education portfolio, is unperturbed. He is confident that the Left Front peace trap will succeed.

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