Guwahati, Jan. 5: The disquiet over the controversies surrounding Asam Sahitya Sabha has deepened despite the reconciliatory tone of its embattled general secretary Paramananda Rajbongshi.

Most within and outside the state's apex literary body seemed unwilling to take Rajbongshi at face value. He had yesterday hinted at resolution of differences at Sunday's executive and general house meetings to be presided over by Sabha vice-president Prahlad Chandra Tasa.

Nagen Saikia, a former Sabha president, is among those seeking an early end to the controversies raging since November. But he admitted that this is easier said than done, given the "huge trust deficit" generated by the controversies.

The "trust deficit" has been triggered by reports of most general house and executive members being handpicked by Rajbongshi and being loyal to him, the unilateral decision to extend the tenure of the current Sabha executive ahead of the now-deferred February centenary celebrations in Sivasagar district, the push to get Parag Kumar Thakur as the interim president in place of Tasa and the U-turn by Rajbongshi to quit at the last meeting of the Sabha's executive body which then rejected his resignation.

Saikia told The Telegraph, "Most feel any decision taken at the January 8 meeting will be an exercise in futility. They believe that Rajbongshi will stay because most members might back him. Tasa told me that he would not be a part of any committee which includes the general secretary. Since there is a trust deficit, I feel that any decision taken at the meeting should not only be above board but should also be seen to be above board, or else it will not serve any purpose."

Saikia, who is widely respected for his views, added, "In my bid to end the controversies, I had advised Sabha president Dhruba Jyoti Borah, who has since resigned, to urge the general secretary to declare at the executive meeting that he would take leave to end the controversies but to no avail. He stayed on. A mechanism has to be worked out by which not only the controversies end but also the Sabha moves forward as it has a special place in the state. We need to respect it. There is nothing personal. We all need to join hands to end the controversies."

Tasa told this correspondent that he would take a decision "depending on the situation" at Sunday's meeting and the "advice" of my seniors (including Saikia). "But I, too, feel like most that the general secretary should step aside for some time in the interest of the Sabha and the people of Assam." The non-acceptance of Tasa's joining letter after a six-month leave despite reminders is another controversy the Sabha is entangled in.

Madhuryya Mondit Baruah, editor of the language and literature section of Srimanta Sankardeva Koox, a Sabha project, echoed Saikia and Tasa while demanding that a meeting of presidents and office-bearers, both past and present, and leading intellectuals be called by January 31 to sort out the matter and instil confidence in the Sabha which has taken a "battering" by the controversies.

On a personal note, Baruah said the functioning of the Sabha is below expectations. "The Sabha has shown that Rs 10 lakh was sanctioned for my project in 2012-13 but I have neither been intimated about it till now nor have the funds been released."

More trouble brewed for the Sabha today. Senior cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here that the controversies should end immediately by "involving" both the past and present presidents. Or else, he said, the government would have to reconsider extending help to the Sabha, a stand which bodes ill for the organisation in its centenary year, sources said.