Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has found himself in a spot after the proscribed Ulfa (I), the only militant outfit in Assam outside the peace process despite repeated appeals by the government, claimed on Thursday it had planted bombs across 24 locations in the state as part of an armed protest on Independence Day.
Opposition parties and leading organisations have not only launched a scathing attack against him for the manner in which the militant outfit, formed in 1979 to secure Assam’s sovereignty, “exposed the lapses” on the security and intelligence gathering front but are also demanding his resignation as he is also in charge of the home department.
The lapses have been glaring because it came when security is usually tight in the run-up to Independence Day or Republic Day, they said, adding that the Ulfa had issued a call to boycott Independence Day.
The Ulfa (I) had through a press statement on Thursday claimed to have planted bombs across 24 locations in Assam as part of an “armed protest”, leaving the administration and the public in a tizzy amid Independence Day celebrations besides triggering an extensive police search for the explosives. The Ulfa statement had said the bombs were to go off between 6am and noon on Thursday but it did not because of “technical” issues.
Eight of the locations were in Guwahati city. The other purported locations were Tinsukia, once a Ulfa stronghold, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Nagaon, Lakhimpur, Nalbari and Tamulpur districts.
Search for the bombs continued on Friday with Guwahati police recovering four bomb-like articles. Assam police chief G.P. Singh had said these articles “do not have ignition device” though “some circuits and batteries are seen” and the articles were “being sent for forensic/chemical examination”.
Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi wanted the immediate resignation of the chief minister, who is also the home minister, because Sarma “never” tires of claiming bomb blasts were a thing of the past.
“Our only demand is that Assam CM and home minister should resign immediately. The bombs did not explode because of the mercy shown by the Ulfa. It has been proved a life can be snuffed out anytime, anywhere in Assam by any insurgent outfit. There is no law and order. The home department has failed. The Assam government, Assam BJP, the police have completely failed. The only solution to these problem is the resignation of the Assam chief minister,” Gogoi said.