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North East: Assam : ULFA peace hope relit

	October 15, 2007

Senior AICC leader and newly-appointed in-charge of Assam Congress, Veerappa Moily, and writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami, who are two old friends, have relit hopes that the jinxed peace process with the secessionist outfit, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) might be revived.



Moily who was on his three-day maiden visit to Assam last week, told reporters on Oct. 13 that the ULFA problem was “not merely a law and order one and the party would look into it.”



“I am for peace. My party is committed to lasting peace and all steps will be taken to provide democratic space to those who feel alienated within the Constitution. We are responsible and sensitive to the issue. We want peace at any cost,” he said, when it was pointed out that the ULFA blamed the government for not taking the peace process seriously.



“The Administrative Reforms Commission has gone through the conflict situation in the country, including the North East. It has tried to address the problem, which is not merely a law and order one. There are other issues like employment and livelihood. The commission’s report, which has tried to address all critical and conflict issues, will be out in around 20 days,” he added.



Moily disclosed said he had called on his old friend Indira Goswami on Oct. 12 evening to enquire about her health. Mamoni had recently suffered a stroke and is recuperating.



Goswami said the hour-long meeting was mainly confined to her health and literature. “We are old friends and he even knows my family closely. He is not only a politician, but also a lit¬terateur and a humanist. He did not talk about the peace process, but wanted to discuss it later after I fully recover. Both of us want lasting peace. Let us see what is in store.



Indicating that Moily had done his homework, Goswami said he had met Gauhati University professor Nanigopal Mahanta, who has done extensive research on the problem of insurgency three months ago. “He was keen to understand the problem and took feedback from Mahanta,” she added.



Goswami was part of the peace process between Delhi and the ULFA-constituted People’s Consultative Group till it hit a road¬block in September last year.



After addressing the news conference on Oct. 13, Moily met Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and then visited Dibrugarh and Tinsu¬kia where he met party workers.





Moily push to ministers



In a wake-up call to senior Congress leaders and ministers before the panchayat polls, Moily chalked out daily and monthly schedules for them to ensure that they interact with the party’s grassroots workers.



Moily advised Assam’s Congress ministers to meet party workers at the grassroots level at least once a month and also spend at least an hour everyday at the party’s headquarters in Guwahati.



To ensure that the ministers follow the new guidelines, Moily asked Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to prepare a roster of ministers so as to keep track of those who are away on visits and to name replacements if any of them cannot make it.



“Those not following the guidelines will be reported to the Chief Minister as well as party president Sonia Gandhi. I want total involvement of the party at the grassroots level to ensure that all our programmes are implemented and promises are ful¬filled. I want to ensure both commitment and conviction among the party rank and file,” he told reporters.



Moily, who had replaced Digvijay Singh as the in-charge of the Assam PCC last month, made it abundantly clear that he means business.



In a message to the Congress rank and file that the party comes first, Moily - on the second day of his maiden three-day visit to the state in his new role - also announced a slew of decisions to ensure that the party and the government remain in good health.



These include reviews of the manifesto and co-ordination committees every three months and formation of district-level manifesto committees which will report to the PCC about the progress (or lack of it) with reference to the promises made in the party manifesto.



Moily said he would visit the state every month and tour different districts instead of remaining confined to the capital city, a practice which party workers say would be a new develop¬ment.