Talks at final stage: Rajkhowa

TT, Guwahati, Dec. 4: The Arabinda Rajkhowa-led Ulfa today said their dialogue with Delhi and Dispur was at the final stage but discussion on some issues like extradition of their leader Anup Chetia from Bangladesh was still on.

Chetia, general secretary of the outfit, has been in a Bangladesh prison since his arrest there in 1997. Rajkhowa, chairman of the pro-talks group, said after an executive committee meeting here that only a few formalities were left for Chetia’s extradition.

“It can be said that our talks are at a final stage but the Chetia issue is still being discussed.” The Rajkhowa-led group had engaged in talks with Delhi after being “pushed back” to India by Bangladesh in 2010. But Ulfa’s “commander-in-chief” Paresh Barua refused to join the talks without discussion on the issue of sovereignty.

His group later renamed itself Ulfa (Independent) and announced Abhijit Asom as its new chairman. On his relations with Baruah, Rajkhowa said there was no enmity between them at the personal level but there were differences of opinion regarding organisational activities. “Differences of opinion are obvious between two persons,” he added. 

The meeting was attended by the group’s leaders Pradip Gogoi, Raju Baruah, Chitraban Hazarika, Sasadhar Choudhury, Pranati Deka and Mithinga Daimary.