New Delhi: Assam's main Opposition party Asom Gana Parishad on Monday hit the streets in the national capital with a call for urgent resumption of peace talks between the Central Government and the banned ULFA.
A group of AGP legislators and MPs staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar here, highlighting the slow progress in the peace process with the ULFA, and alleged that New Delhi lacks 'sincerity' in solving the insurgency problem of the state.
"We have moved the Prime Minister several times on the issue. But the response from the Union Government has been lukewarm," party president Brindabon Goswami told journalists at the venue of the strike.
The party said it has been appealing to ULFA also to come to the negotiation table. "Assam needs peace at this juncture. And peace is possible only if both sides come to the negotiation table with a give-and-take mindset," the party president said. "We appeal to both ULFA and the Centre to declare a ceasefire," he said.
The AGP legislators and MPs also raised several other issues, including the Assam-Nagaland boundary dispute, and demanded the Centre's intervention for an early solution to the boundary row. In fact, the party demanded immediate resolution of all boundary disputes that Assam has with its neighbouring states.
Talking about the boundary dispute, Goswami alleged that over 1,62,471 acres of land in Upper Assam's Jorhat, Golaghat and Sibsagar districts have already gone under Nagaland's occupation and this is increasing day by day.
He alleged a "total breakdown of the law and order machinery" in Assam and claimed that "violence has become the order of the day."
Goswami even went on to claim that given the complete failure of the Congress Government in the state, the formation of a non-Congress government through a mutual understanding among the Opposition parties cannot be ruled out.
Among other things, the party also raised the issue of Assam Accord implementation and updating of the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) to March, 1971 in order to facilitate detection and deportation of illegal migrants.
The party also demanded that the Centre should urgently announce a package for the 30 lakh farmers in the state, which were affected badly due to draught in the paddy season.
When asked about the party's stand on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 currently in force in Manipur, the AGP leaders said they have all along been demanding the repeal of the draconian Act and halting of the ongoing Army operations in the state. Party Lok Sabha MP Arun Sharma said he has even raised the issue on the floor of Lok Sabha and demanded that the Centre should repeal the Act without any further delay.
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