Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday raised the issue of the rise in the number of young men in Assam joining the militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) due to the rise in unemployment and urged the Centre to take action.
During the Zero Hour, the Congress MP from Kaliabor said that it was worrying that more young men are leaving their families to join the militant outfit, and it undoes years of effort to bring normalcy to the region. “We have lost decades of development due to extremists in Assam and the Northeast. With great efforts, an atmosphere of peace and development has been created. And this trend is worrying,” Gogoi said.
He said that since Assam is a border state, urgent steps should be taken. “A team of intelligence, as well as home agency officers, should go to Assam and find out a solution after interacting with the state government there,” Gogoi said.
Gogoi’s father, Tarun Gogoi was the former chief minister in the state for 15 years, and under his tenure, the peace process with the ULFA began and Anup Chetia, a top leader of the militant group was handed to India by Bangladesh two decades after he left.
“The reason why these young men are lured towards the ULFA is that they think they can make some easy money there, as there are no jobs for them in the state. They are not realising that their futures are at stake. The government talks of Act East policy, this is an issue that it must act on fact,” the lawmaker said.
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Published 23 March 2022, 17:27 IST