Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed optimism that discussions with the pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) will result in a peace agreement by the end of May.
Talks are currently ongoing, and the government has provided a draft to the pro-talks ULFA team, but the matter may be postponed if the draft is not accepted. CM Sarma hopes that the peace agreement will be signed by the end of May.
The pro-talks faction of ULFA has acknowledged receipt of the latest draft from the government but has expressed a need for further discussion. The government has been in sporadic discussions with the pro-talks faction for over a decade, with little progress in a positive direction. However, discussions with the ULFA (I) faction are not facilitating peace talks, according to the chief minister.
The pro-talks ULFA faction has expressed doubts about the government's sincerity in taking the peace talks forward, alleging that no dialogue has occurred in the last two years, and there is no government interlocutor to take the process forward.
They also claim that little progress has been made since the Narendra Modi government came to power, despite negotiations reaching the final stages during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's tenure. The pro-talks faction maintains that the hardliner ULFA (I) chief, Paresh Barua, is unlikely to participate in negotiations until the parleys with the pro-talks faction are completed.
