Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said on Wednesday that the Maoists had been trying to set up base in Assam for the last three years to exploit the fluid situation in the insurgency-hit state, but in vain, thanks to alertness shown by the Assam police, a force with much experience in counter-insurgency operations.
Gogoi said though the Union home ministry was yet to speak about it officially, the state government was awake to the reality that Assam stood vulnerable to Maoist penetration in view of the presence of so many tribal and Adivasi militant groups active in different parts of the state. "So far, our police force has been successful in preventing the Maoists from striking roots in the state," Gogoi said while talking to reporters in Guwahati.
The chief minister, "Maoists usually try to infiltrate tribal belts. Our police have arrested several persons with suspected links with Maoists in the past," he said.
To a poser whether the United Liberation Front of Asom or other militant groups of the state were in contact with the Maoists, Gogoi said, "It is quite natural for militant groups trying to help each other for their benefit mutual benefit."
Gogoi also hinted that government was game to offer 'a safe passage' to ULFA militants and a chance for jailed leaders of the outfit to visit their families during the upcoming Bihu celebrations, provided the ULFA asked for it.
"If there is any proposal from the ULFA for a chance to visit home during Rongali Bihu, we shall consider it sympathetically," Gogoi said.
