Arabinda Rajkhowa

Guwahati, Oct. 23: The pro-talks faction of Ulfa has expressed concern over rise in religious fundamentalism in Assam.

The outfit’s chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, today said the jihadi groups were trying to create a base in the state and appealed to people and the government to be vigilant against such forces.

“The threat could be more serious than we think. People need to be cautious of the threat in order to defeat the evil designs of fundamentalist forces,” he told reporters here today following a meeting of the outfit’s top leadership to review its ongoing negotiations with the government.

Rajkhowa’s comments came in the wake of a hue and cry being raised over the arrests of six alleged members of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Barpeta district of Assam in connection with the blast case in Burdwan district of West Bengal.

“The main objective of our peace process with the government is to bring about an end to bloodshed in the state and that cannot be achieved if jihadi fundamentalism is allowed to grow here.

“We would bring this matter to the notice of the government. We do not want Assam to become like Iraq, Afghanistan or Lebanon,” he added.

On allegations about Ulfa’s links with fundamentalist forces, Rajkhowa said it is a fact that Ulfa cadres had undergone (arms) training in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, but the outfit never had any links with the fundamentalist or jihadi outfits.

He said the outfit had never shared radical ideologies like those who believe in jihad.

“The Ulfa has been, in principle, opposed to fundamentalism and religious bigotry since its inception. Ulfa’s aim is to achieve the rights of indigenous people of Assam beyond religious brackets. Our ideology is completely separate from those of the jihadis,” he said.

“There had been pressure to link Ulfa with fundamentalist forces and even in drug trafficking. But as per its policy, the outfit had never indulged in such activities,” Rajkhowa said.

The recent assertions of Islamic forces, particularly al Qaeda, that they are trying to make inroads into minority-dominated areas of Assam have already put security agencies on alert.

Expressing satisfaction over the progress of talks with the government, the Ulfa chairman said they expect the next round of talks to be held soon after Diwali.

“We appeal to the government to take the talks to its logical conclusion at the earliest so that we can arrive at a permanent solution to the India-Assam conflict,” he said.

“We hope that the new government at the Centre will take the talks forward and a resolution would be reached shortly,” Rajkhowa said.

Other senior leaders of the outfit including vice-chairman Pradip Gogoi, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua, foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury, finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika and cultural secretary Pranati Deka also attended the meeting.