GUWAHATI:
Lieutenant General Rana Pratap Kalita, chief of Army’s Eastern Command, on May 16, said that there will be no possibility of talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) unless the proscribed outfit shuns its demand for sovereignty.
“I saw ULFA-I supremo Paresh Baruah’s interview in a news channel yesterday. He categorically stated that he would not come for negotiations unless the very issue of sovereignty is on the table. Apart from it, the government of India is giving all options possible for bringing them to the negotiating table,” Lt Gen Kalita said, addressing a press conference in Guwahati, on May 16.
He further added that the Army is conscious of the recruitment drives being carried out by the ULFA-I.
“This year there has been an increase in recruitment by ULFA-I. Not only from upper Assam, but also from lower Assam. Most of the recruitment took place through social media. But the youth have to realise that violence has no place in a democratic set-up. My appeal to all Assamese youth is to shun violence as it will never resolve any issue of difference,” he said.
He also informed how improvement in the number of insurgency-related incidents in the Northeast has led to reduction in deployment of forces in the region. “Troops have been pulled out from counter-insurgency drives and the army has been enabled to address the external security threat. I can’t give you the numbers but yes I can say that there has been a sizable deduction of troops from counterinsurgency,” said Lt Gen Kalita, who hails from Assam.
The Army Commander also said that after he Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was withdrawn from various parts of the Northeast, some numbers of forces have been “de-inducted” and shifted to the northern areas. “We would be happy to do our core function which is protecting the territorial integrity of the nation,” he said.
Lt Gen Kalita also informed that the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is engaged in infrastructure capacity enhancement across the international border in Arunachal Pradesh.
The chief of the Army’s Eastern Command, however, said the Indian side is also continuously upgrading its infrastructure and capabilities to deal with any situation that may arise along the border. “Across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tibet region, a lot of infrastructure development is going on,” he said.