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Govt cannot wait for Baruah indefinitely: CM

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 12 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the Government would wait for some more time to have ULFA �c-in-c� Paresh Baruah in the proposed peace dialogue but hinted that the talks could start without him as well.

�Some pro-gress has been made in the peace initiative with the ULFA and we are trying to involve Paresh Baruah in the process. But talks can take place without him, as we cannot wait indefinitely for the ULFA supremo,� he said.

The Chief Minister who was addressing a press conference said that the doors for talks with ultra outfits were open but that operations against them would continue as long as they indulged in violence.

Gogoi also welcomed the peace initiative by a group of distinguished citizens to bring the ULFA to the negotiating table. �We appreciate the move and will definitely support such an endeavour. In fact, if the initiative succeeds, the people of Assam will be grateful to those behind the initiative,� he said.

Dwelling on the Maoist links of militant outfits of the State, Gogoi said that intelligence

inputs had revealed such links. �Anyway, the ideologies of the militant outfits here do not differ much from the Maoists, and there has obviously been links among them,� he said.

On price rise, the Chief Minister said that apart from short-term measures, the Government was trying to streamline the public distri-bution system (PDS). �A major reason behind the sale of PDS items in the black market is that the fair price shops get low commission. We need to look into it,� he said.

Underlining the need for boosting productivity and ensuring adequate remuneration for the farmers, Gogoi said that unless agriculture remained profitable, less and less people would go for it. �Enhanced production and remunerative prices are a must for sustaining agriculture�we also need to do away with the system of middlemen and have better storage facilities,� he said.

The Chief Minister also announced that a new scheme would be launched for preservation and promotion of folk musical instruments of the State. �We want to preserve and showcase indigenous instruments such as dhol, pepa, gogona, bahi, sutuli, tokari, etc.,� he said.

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