Himanta Sarma invites chief of banned separatist outfit ULFA-I for Assam visit

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday, invited United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah to visit the state for a week and "see the development" across it, over the years.

Talking to reporters in Assam's Tinsukia district, Chief Minister Sarma said, “Paresh Baruah is an intelligent and educated man. If he visits the state and spends seven days here, he will see the development that the state has gone through over the years. I have invited him as a guest and not for peace talks.”

Paresh Baruah is the military chief of the ULFA (I), an armed separatist outfit, seeking independence for Assam from the Indian Union.

Baruah is believed to be living in the Yunnan province of China at present, where he receives funding and patronage from the Ministry of State Security (MSS).

One of the most wanted militant leaders, Baruah, had earlier said that the organisation would never move away from the issue of sovereignty.

The Chief Minister, after assuming office in May 2021, had offered the ULFA (I) to come forward to sit for talks.

However, Chief Minister Sarma had clearly said that peace talks with the outlawed outfit would not be possible unless Paresh Baruah gives up his demand for sovereignty. Sarma had also appealed to the people of Assam to exert moral pressure on Baruah to give up the demand for sovereignty.

The government had banned the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in 1990, citing it as a terrorist organisation, while the United States Department of State lists it under other groups of concern.

The ULFA is credited with a number of bank robberies and large-scale extortions.