Guwahati: A controversy over Assam minister Biswajit Daimary’s praise for Ulfa prompted chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday to clarify that the minister was referring to the pro-talks faction led by Anup Chetia and not the banned ULFA (Independent) headed by Paresh Baruah.Daimary’s remarks at a public function in Tinsukia district on Wednesday sparked a political row after a video of his speech went viral on social media, with the Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress writing to Union home minister Amit Shah seeking an explanation.“If there is some force in Assam, that force was, in fact, Ulfa. One can criticise Ulfa for some reasons, but because of Ulfa no one has been able to lay hands on Assam for 50 years. And the people who gave the core leadership of this Ulfa are the Morans and the Muttocks,” Daimary said at the function.“Without these people (Moran and Muttock communities), what would have happened to Assam in these 50 years only God would know, only God could say,” he added.Speaking to reporters in Tinsukia on Thursday, Sarma said he had called Daimary to seek an explanation.“He told me that he was referring to Ulfa, specifically the pro-talks faction that we brought into the peace process, and which returned to the path of peace. He said a peace agreement had already been signed with Ulfa. Therefore, Ulfa is no longer a banned organisation. He said he was not referring to Ulfa (Independent),” Sarma said.The chief minister added: “Technically, that is correct. It is Ulfa (Independent) that remains banned. An agreement has been signed, and a peace accord has been reached with the Ulfa faction that entered into talks.”In her letter to Shah, Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Meera Barthakur Goswami questioned why a cabinet minister would praise an organisation against which the Union home ministry has acted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.The letter, citing media reports and the viral video, demanded that Daimary be asked to clarify his remarks and that the Centre state whether they were consistent with its national security policy. It also sought the Assam government’s position on the issue and called for the full speech to be examined for action under the law.“National security should not be used according to political convenience,” the letter says in Assamese, adding that no one in public office is above accountability.
