New Delhi: In spite of a categorical assurance by the Union Minister of State for Home, Sriprakash Jaiswal, to ensure safety and security for the Hindi-speaking population living in the state at any cost, Hindi-speaking non-Assamese people have started fleeing Assam in the face continuing violence by the ULFA over the past four days.
Within hours after Jaiswal left Assam on Sunday after an on-the-spot assessment of the situation, ULFA militants struck again, killing 15 Hindi-speaking people in Sibsagar district of Upper Assam.
To add to that, ULFA has started targeting Hindi-speaking people in Lower Assam areas as well. A teenaged Hindi-speaking boy was injured when ULFA militants shot him at Kochugaon in Kokrajhar district on Sunday. Kokrajhar district falls in the Bodol Autonomous Council areas.
With no end to the bloodbath in sight, panic-stricken non-Assamese people, mostly seasonal labourers engaged in various brick kiln in various parts of the state, have started leaving the state. A three-member Bihar Government delegation, including two ministers of the Nitish Kumar Cabinet, is currently in Assam to put pressure on the Assam Government to ensure the security of the Hindi-speaking population.
The Assam Government has asked for more forces from the Centre and at least 20 new battalions of the Army are on the way to take control of the situation. The state government has declared January 8 as a Black Day. Political parties and students groups have also announced that they would commemorate the attacks on January 11 by declaring it as a Black Day.
The Asom Gana Parishad has criticised the Assam Government for its total failure in controlling the militancy in the state, which, they say, resulted in the serial attacks by ULFA. The AGP-led Opposition combine has also demanded the dismissal of the Tarun Gogoi Government in Assam.
"There were reports with the state government as well as the Centre of possible attacks by ULFA militants, but both took it lightly which caused the death of nearly 48 people in the last 48 hours," the party said.
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