Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal appeals to insurgent outfits to come for peace talks

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has invited all the insurgent outfits of the state for peace talks and said his government wants to rid the state of the militancy, the illegal foreigners and the corruption.

Sonowal gave the invitation in form of an appeal that he made while taking part in an All India Radio talk show last night and said all the insurgent outfits in the state should come forward for the peace talks as his government is trying to create a conducive atmosphere for peace in Assam.

Responding to a question if talks would succeed without ULFA (Independent) leader Paresh Asom (earlier Baruah) participating in the peace process, the CM said, "All those who want to return to the mainstream are welcome to the talk table. The people of Assam want peace."

"All are welcome but under no circumstance, the government will allow militancy in Assam. It will continue with all the measures to firmly deal with terrorism," Sonowal said.

The chief minister also said the sealing of the Indo-Bangladesh border will be completed before soon with the concerned agencies working on it and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being firm on sealing the border.

On making Assam free of illegal immigrants, Sonowal said, "As per the order of the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court, the updating of the National Register of Citizens has been undertaken in Assam. 

Extreme caution is being exercised to ensure that the names of no genuine Indian citizen is excluded from the NRC and the names of no illegal foreigners are included in it".