Pro-talk ULFA signs peace accord with Centre, Assam Govt Outfit has agreed to disband organisation : Shah

New Delhi, Dec 29
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.
Terming it as a “golden day” for the people of Assam, Home Minister Amit Shah said the State has suffered for long due to violence by ULFA and around 10,000 people have lost their lives since 1979.
He further announced that a major development package will be given to Assam under the agreement with ULFA and assured that the accord will be implemented fully.
“It is a matter of great joy for me that today is a golden day for Assam’s future. Assam has suffered from violence since a long time. Since Narendra Modi became the PM, efforts were made to shorten the gap between Delhi and North East. In the last five years, 9 peace and border-related agreements have been signed across North East, because of which peace has been established in major part of the region,” he said.
He added that the ULFA has agreed to abjure violence and disband the organisation.
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 AK Mishra on Tuesday. Along with Mishra, who is the Government’s adviser on North East affairs, Intelligence Bureau’s Director Tapan Deka was part of the talks with the group.
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 North East since the Narendra Modi Government came to power in 2014. Last month, Amit Shah announced the signing of a peace agreement with the Pambei led United National Liberation Front (UNLF) in Manipur.
And, now the ULFA accord will only bolster the party’s narrative.

The Indian Express