NEW DELHI, March 15 � Condemning the twin incidents of violence in the State on Monday, the Centre today said that it was a deliberate effort to undermine the ongoing peace process and also intended to sow fear in the minds of the people that the election process would be disturbed.
These two incidents were desperate attempts by the disgruntled factions of certain groups to wreck the peace process, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.
ULFA (Paresh Baruah faction) has claimed responsibility for the blast at Congress headquarters, while the anti-talk faction of NDFB was said to be behind the Kokrajhar incident.
�Thanks to patient and painstaking efforts taken over the last two years, there is an expectation among the people of Assam that peace is returning to State. The incidents of violence had declined considerably in 2010, as well as, in the first two months of the year, the statement said.
The people of Assam have welcomed the offer of a number of groups to hold talks with the Government. The interlocutor appointed by the Central Government is holding talks and there has been satisfactory progress. Both the Central Government and the Government of Assam are determined to thwart the designs of these disgruntled factions and ensure that the election process is peaceful, the statement said, adding that inquiries into both the incidents were in progress.
The Government of Assam is confident that it will be able to apprehend the culprits responsible for these incidents, the Home Ministry said.
Meanwhile, the AICC has said that all the political parties should criticise the blast at its head office, as violence is not an issue of any single political party. It is an issue of violence and extremism and not limited to the Congress, AGP or the BJP. It can happen to any political party,� said AICC spokesman Abhishek Manu Shingvi.
If violence occurs then all the political parties should condemn such violence,� he said.
