GUWAHATI, June 28 � Seeking to link Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and its leader Akhil Gogoi with the ultra Left extremists, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the jailed RTI activist and KMSS general secretary Akhil Gogoi had Maoist connections as is evident by �inference�.
Gogoi also said that the KMSS has links with groups backed by the banned ULFA like the Asom Chatra Yuba Sanstha and the Chah Janajati Suraksha Samity.
He also referred to two Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) members, who had undergone training in Maoists camps in Jharkhand and Orissa and were subsequently arrested, to prove his claim.
Talking to reporters here, Gogoi said, �There may not be direct evidence but inference certainly exists. The Maoists are here in the garb of others. They may not be in the State directly, but there are groups and individuals with strong links with them.�
When pointed out that Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had stated a couple of months ago that Maoists have no notable presence in the State, he said, �I don�t know what Chidambaram had said, but I know the ground reality here and the fact is that the Maoists have presence in Assam.�
The Chief Minister went on to comment that Maoist problem was present across the country and can be handled only through development initiatives.
Meanwhile, Tarun Gogoi today also announced an ambitious �right to shelter� scheme in the State.
�The State government will work to provide house to all homeless, with priority to those displaced by flood and erosion and riots,� Gogoi said.
He, however, added that the exact programme or scheme under which these houses will be provided is to be worked out.
