Chitrabon Hazarika and Sashadhar Choudhury

Guwahati, Jan. 10: The Ulfa peace process is set to get into top gear as the remaining two central committee members in jail — Chitrabon Hazarika and Sashadhar Choudhury — got bail today in Tada cases registered against them with a rider that they will not display the Ulfa flag or give pro-outfit statements in media.

There were granted bail by a designated Tada court here with the Assam government filing no objection to it.

Their advocate, Bijon Kumar Mahajan, said Ulfa’s foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury was granted bail in four Tada cases registered against him while finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika was granted bail in three Tada cases.

The court allowed them to go on bail of Rs 1 lakh each with two sureties of the same amount.

It, however, directed them not to display Ulfa flags and banners in public places and indulge in any anti-national activity. The court also asked them to refrain from giving any statement to the media favouring Ulfa and participating in any public meeting or gathering under the banner of the outfit.

The court may have imposed these conditions since after the release of Arabinda Rajkhowa, his supporters waved flags and banners of the outfit, besides shouting pro-Ulfa slogans, which had drawn criticism from several quarters.

The duo’s getting bail in all the Tada cases pending against them will give a boost to the peace process. Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has said that after the release of Chitrabon and Sashadhar from jail, they would hold a meeting of their central committee members where a final decision on holding talks with the government would be taken.

Today’s order has paved the way for release of Sashadhar from jail. However, Chitraban Hazarika is yet to get bail in a case pending against him at the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate at Goalpara. The sub-divisional judicial magistrate, Goalpara, will hear Chitrabon’s bail plea tomorrow.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi today said his government would welcome the Ulfa commander-in-chief, Paresh Barua, to the proposed peace talks only on condition that he quits the armed struggle. He rejected the statement of pro-talks leader Mrinal Hazarika that Barua should not join the talks at the initial stage and maintain his present status for “strategic” reasons.

“Barua is welcome for talks at any stage. But he must abjure violence first. The government will not accept the condition that Barua will again return to armed struggle if the talks fail. He must accept a talk within the framework of the Constitution,” Gogoi said. He said the government was corresponding with the Union home ministry and external affairs ministry to bring Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia, who is currently under detention in Bangladesh, to India.

“My government is trying to start the peace talks with the Ulfa at the earliest. However, there are certain formalities like holding the outfit’s central executive and general council’s meetings,” Gogoi said.

There is no connection between the talks and Assembly polls as alleged by the Opposition. The Opposition is scared of the peace talks and is trying to derail it,” Gogoi said.