Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president Atul Bora on Sunday said the peace pact with the pro-talk faction of ULFA will expedite the ongoing developmental works in the state.
Bora, who is also a minister in the BJP-led government in the state, said the attitude of the Centre towards Assam and the region as a whole has changed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge.
“Developmental works have been going on in the Northeast since 2014. The earlier step-motherly treatment to this region is no longer there. Peace and development have taken centre stage now,” he said at a press conference here.
Thanking Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in whose presence the peace pact with ULFA was inked, Bora said the agreement will speed up the ongoing developmental works in the state.
The ULFA’s pro-talks faction on December 29 signed a peace accord with the Centre and the Assam government, agreeing to shun violence, surrender all arms, disband the organisation and join the democratic process. Talking about the coming year, the AGP chief said that the party will work towards strengthening its base in all 35 districts of the state.
“We will organise various programmes targetting the Lok Sabha elections and the panchayat polls. We do not have any member in
Lok Sabha now, but we aim to send at least one after next year’s elections,” he added.
As part of this plan, the AGP will organise a series of booth-level meetings in Barpeta, Karimganj, Jorhat, Sonitpur and other districts over the next two months, Bora said.
“We are a part of the NDA and will fight the next Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BJP. We have
done a survey of all the 14 seats, but have not decided where we will contest,” he added.