Guwahati, Aug. 17: A day after the Ulfa provided a peek into its ?independent Asom?, state security and intelligence agencies besides civil officials in Assam went into a huddle this afternoon to ascertain the import of the outfit?s blueprint.

Later, a senior official, who attended the deliberations, claimed that the declaration was a reflection of the outfit?s preparedness for talks. He also claimed that the blueprint of an ?independent Asom? was actually a set of demands the outfit has prepared for the talks and wants to see how the people react to these.

Those present at the meeting arrived at such a conclusion considering the timing of the revelation and also based on inputs provided by some of the recently arrested cadre of the outfit.

?Why has the Ulfa come out with its blueprint after all these years? There is much more to it than what meets the eye,? the official said.

He said going through the Ulfa?s agenda for an independent Asom, it had become quite clear that these are the points the outfit would raise during the talks. ?Short of sovereignty, what else can it ask for?? he asked, adding that the government had intelligence inputs that the think tank of the outfit had met recently and discussed the Centre?s offer for talks. ?The blueprint is an outcome of that meeting,? he said.

Alluding to the ongoing efforts of writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami to bring the Ulfa and the Centre to the negotiation table, the official said the blueprint gives an insight into the Ulfa?s mind that after 25 years of its existence, the outfit is finally preparing itself for a dialogue.

?Her efforts may not have yielded more than a few letters between the two sides but this was an indication that the outfit is seriously considering sitting for talks. Now, you cannot possibly sit for talks without an agenda or with only one agenda, in this case, sovereignty. By publicising the agenda, the outfit wants to test the waters,? the official said.

Through its mouthpiece Freedom, the outfit envisaged a democratic set-up with a mixed economy.

Officials in the home department were understandably guarded in their reaction. ?Now it is upto the Centre, which has opened a channel of dialogue through Goswami, to ponder over the outfit?s agenda and proceed accordingly,? an official said.

Sources in the chief minister?s office, too, were cautious. ?Since it is the Centre which is dealing with the talks issue, it will not be prudent on our part to comment on the blueprint. The chief minister has already made it clear in the Assam Assembly that though Dispur is not directly a party in the ongoing efforts to broker talks, it would continue to support each and every effort to usher in lasting peace in the state,? he said.