The chief of banned militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), Paresh Baruah, received an extraordinary offer from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday.
The offer is an invitation to stay in the state for a week or 10 days with the promise of safety while Baruah is here.
Sarma said, “Paresh Baruah is a smart, educated individual. I'm hoping he'll agree to have civil discussions when I extend the invitation.”
Justifying the unusual invitation, the Chief Minister argued that Assam has changed a lot since the turbulent times of insurgency.
"If Paresh Baruah comes back and stays in the state for 7 or 10 days in this new Assam, he will understand that it has changed a lot," Sarma told reporters in upper Assam’s Dhola Sadiya.
The Chief Minister said that the idea of outsiders taking over the state has changed dramatically as a result of Assam's shifting demographics.
Now-a-days, states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where a sizable population of Assamese people reside, are fostering a diversified and welcoming environment, he said.
Sarma also asserted that Baruah need not have to engage in peace talks if he agrees for the special visit. Upon returning to his base, the outlawed group commander-in-chief can think about the peace discussions, he said.
Regarding insurgency, Sarma recognised that a number of people who joined groups like ULFA-I are now looking for a way to reintegrate into the mainstream society.
The Chief Minister emphasised that he is committed to making their return easier and that there is no set time-frame for reintegration.
Earlier on January 1, 2022, the Chief Minister had declared that Assamese people need to apply "moral pressure" in order to Baruah to give up his call for independence.
When Sarma took office in May 2021, he had extended an invitation to the outlawed ULFA-I to engage in dialogues, while the group declared a truce. But the negotiations did not advance.
India hit 8 military bases in Pakistan, including Sialkot station: Centre
India responded strongly to Pakistan’s repeated drone and missile attacks and hit at least eight military targets inside Pakistan on Friday night with precision, thereby causing significant damage, the Centre told the Press, as part of a special briefing on 'Operation Sindoor'.
Pak troops moving into forward areas, Indian forces in high state of operational readiness: Govt
India on Saturday said that Pakistan was escalating tensions along the Western border by moving troops into forward areas, suggesting an offensive intent to intensify hostilities.
Pak fired high-speed missile, tried to hit health facilities, schools but was thwarted: Centre slams escalation bid
The Centre, in a special briefing on 'Operation Sindoor' on Saturday, called out Pakistan’s brazen attempt to escalate the matter by repeatedly targeting India’s military as well as civilian centres and also slammed the state-sponsored propaganda machinery for spewing canards.
Coded messages in phones of 2 arrested JMB men in Bengal show links with other fundamentalist groups
The West Bengal Police recovered several coded and encrypted messages from the mobile phones of Aazmal Hossain and Saheb Ali Khan, the two Indian associates of Bangladesh-based Islamic fundamentalist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
Marco Rubio reaches out to real centre of Pakistan power, talks to army chief
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has finally reached out to the real centre of Pakistan's power, Army Chief Asim Munir, after talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to de-escalate tensions with India failed.
Responded in measured fashion to continued Pakistani provocations: India
Addressing the press conference on 'Operation Sindoor', Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, along with Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Indian Air Force Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, briefed the nation about the current situation along the India-Pakistan border.
Multiple enemy-armed drones in Amritsar destroyed: Indian Army
Multiple enemy-armed drones were spotted flying over Khasa Cantonment in Amritsar in Punjab and they were instantly engaged and destroyed by air defence units, the Indian Army said on Saturday.
Indian armed forces destroy Pakistani posts, launch pads; intercept multiple Pakistani drones
In yet another befitting reply to Pakistan's nefarious activities, the Border Security Force (BSF) has completely destroyed a Pakistani post and a terrorist launch pad in Looni, District Sialkot, opposite Akhnoor area, from where the tube drones were being launched to attack India.