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Regular-article-logo Tuesday, 29 April 2025

ULFA STRIKE STALLS SULFA POLITICAL DEBUT 

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FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT Published 22.06.01, 12:00 AM
Guwahati, June 22 :    Guwahati, June 22:  The Ulfa strike on surrendered rebels in the Upper Assam town of Moran yesterday may well have scuttled the Asom Jatiya Mahasabha's reported move to float a political front. Sasanka Sarma, publicity secretary the mahasabha, told The Telegraph here that the governing body meeting scheduled to be held at the Rabindra Bhawan here on July 4 was 'likely' to be postponed due to 'certain' organisational hiccups. 'It will now, in all probability, be held after an executive body meeting, the venue and date for which is yet to be decided,' he added. The 'hiccups' referred to by Sarma include the resignation of two senior members of the mahasabha, an apolitical organisation comprising former militants of the Ulfa and the National Democratic Front of Boroland. Both Sunil Nath and Jugal Kishore Mahanta quit the mahasabha early this week. Sarma said non-receipt of quarterly reports from the district units of the mahasabha was another issue that had to be resolved. However, the publicity secretary insisted that the likely postponement of the July 4 meeting should not be linked with the Ulfa attack on surrendered militants. Twelve former militants were killed in the attack. 'The executive committee will review the overall situation before reconvening the general body meeting,' Sarma said. The former Ulfa leader said the mahasabha had no plan to float a political platform immediately. 'When we last held a meeting, we only discussed the feasibility of reviewing our constitution in the context of recent political developments. This was misconstrued by a section of the media as deciding to float a political platform,' he added. Sarma said the proposed governing body meeting would examine the possibility of 'reaccommodating' Jiten Gogoi and Jayanta Hazarika, both of whom had to quit the mahasabha after deciding to contest the Assembly elections. 'We want to examine the pros and cons of such a move. We would like these two members and others like Sunil Nath and Jugal Kishore Mahanta to be actively involved in the affairs of our organisation. We will invite all of them,' he said. Gogoi was elected to the Assembly from Bokakhat constituency, but Hazarika lost the polls. Nath and Mahanta quit the mahasabha early this week, citing personal reasons. It is presumed that the mahasabha reviewed its strategy after Nath and Mahanta's resignation. Urging all members of the mahasabha to exercise restraint, Sarma said, 'We would not like our members to be provoked by yesterday's incident, which, going by reports, was the Ulfa's handiwork. Retaliation will only aggravate the situation.' The Sulfa leader also asked surrendered militants to be 'alert' to the possibility of attacks. Sarma denied that the incident in Moran was the fallout of infighting in the Sulfa ranks.    
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