NEW DELHI, May 12 � With the stage all set for counting of votes for Assembly polls in Assam, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said he is confident that the Congress-led alliance would form the next government in Assam.
And the next government would resume talks with all insurgent groups, which are engaged in talks with the government, he said.
�We are confident that the next government would be a Congress-led government and, therefore, I am confidently claiming that the new government will resume the talks process. Even otherwise, I suppose any responsible government would resume talks,� Chidambaram said.
�As I said before the election, after the new government is formed in Assam, the new government will resume negotiations with all the groups in Assam, which have come forward for talks,� Chidambaram reiterated.
The Centre and the State governments are engaged in talks with pro-talk factions of ULFA and NDFB, UPDS and DHD, among others. Dialogue with the pro-talk faction of ULFA is slated to resume in June.
The Union Home Minister was addressing mediapersons as part of a fresh initiative of the UPA Government to engage the media. Chidambaram heads a Group of Minister (GoM) on media that also includes Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Water Resources (MoWR) Salman Khursid, HRD and Communication Minister Kapil Sibal, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides Minister (PMO) Narayan Swami.
The Prime Minister has formed the GoM that would brief the media and issue statements on a regular basis, said Soni.
Meanwhile, replying to questions, Chidambaram said Karbi Anglong was a bit of a concern. And among the subjects that are on the table are � empowering the autonomous district councils and providing them funds.
�There is no reason to fear that there is an attempt to isolate or alienate Karbi Anglong,� he said.
The Union Home Minister, who has returned from a two-day tour of Manipur on Wednesday, said he reviewed the law-and-order situation. The violence is at a level, which is lower than last year, but that is not a matter of satisfaction,� he said
�There are at least three or four groups, PREPAK, PLA, UNLF, which are still not in mood to talk. They are still indulging in hostile acts, there is still insurgency,� Chidambaram said.
�We have reviewed the situation. R K Meghen is already in custody, but there are few others, who have to be apprehended. I have advised the State Government to be vigilant and try to apprehend the leaders of these insurgent groups,� the Union Home Minister said.
