ULFA leaders in court,Paresh for talks on ‘sovereignty’

Rajkhowa and Baruah claimed that they had not surrendered would never do it as they were taken back to the police van by the personnel of the Special Operations Unit of the Assam Police.

Their lawyer Bijon Mahajan said the three have been booked under some old case registered against them years ago and the custody was granted against the police demand for 14 days.

Paresh Baruah,who is believed to be in Myanmar and who had on Saturday asked Rajkhowa not to fall into the government’s trap of dialogue,today denied there was any split in the organisation he had “full confidence” in Rajkhowa.

“We are ready for dialogue provided sovereignty for Assam is discussed,” he said in an email to the media from an undisclosed location.

Rajkhowa and other leaders,who were sheltered in Bangladesh,were reportedly spotted in the small hours along with family members on the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya from where they were brought here by road.

Denying that there was a split in the ULFA,Paresh Baruah said,”There is no split… and we have full confidence on Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa”.

He said “the question of difference of opinion does not arise and now it is up to the Indian government to show their sincerity by taking the process forward.”

Baruah dubbed the news regarding split in the ULFA as “conspiracy by the Indian government as a part of its divide and rule policy and misinformation campaign to create confusion among the people of Assam”.

Rajkhowa’s brother Ajay Rajkonwar,who was present at the court and met his brother for the first time in 25 years,said Rajkhowa told him that they would involve in the peace process only if the government agreed to put the issue of Assam’s ‘sovereignty’ in the agenda for discussion.

The crowds burst into slogan shouting hailing the surrender of Rajkhowa and others and calling for peace in Assam.