Ulfa asks Centre to end Bangladeshi influx

Top leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) on Friday asked the Centre to bring in a Constitutional amendment to protect the rights and identity of the indigenous people of the state in the face of massive infiltration from Bangladesh.

Union Home Secretary R K Singh-led government officials held talks with the six-member Ulfa delegation, comprising its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, to thrash out the outfit’s 12 ‘charter of demands’.

The Centre’s interlocutor P C Halder and Assam government representatives were also present in the meeting since September 3, 2011, when the group signed the Suspension of Operation pact with the Centre.Among the ‘charter of demands’ is amendment in the Constitution for finding “meaningful” ways to protect the rights and identity of the indigenous people of Assam.

“The meeting with ULFA leaders was fruitful. We discussed the 12-point charter of demands,” Singh said fater the meeting.Later, at another press conference, Singh told the reporters that their foremost concern was infrastructure development, tackling floods and checking illegal immigration into the state.

It is learnt that during the two-hour-long talks the group has also sought the government’s help to bring their general secretary Anup Chetia, who is in a Dhaka jail, to India. They have also sought government permission to travel across to Bangladesh to meet him in jail.