Even as the anti-talks faction of the banned United Liberation Front of India is on the prowl against the ruling Congress in the run up to election, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday alleged that the faction had links with the rival regional political party, Asom Gana Parishad.
Addressing media persons, Gogoi said: "I believe that the ULFA anti-talks faction would like AGP and Bharatiya Janata Party to come to power in Assam after the polls."
Both the AGP and the BJP, however, vehemently refuted the allegation and termed it baseless. The AGP, in fact, countered it by saying that it was the Congress that took help of the ULFA in the 2001 polls.
The ULFA anti-talks faction triggered a blast at Assam Pradesh Congres Committee headquarter on March 14 in which three Congress leaders were injured. But Gogoi on Friday tried to make light of the ULFA threat saying that the threat had been there since a long time.
He said it (threat) would not disrupt Congress' electioneering because of the level of enthusiasm within the party.
"You see, there is infighting in the Congress because of the dispute over party nominations. It is natural because there are only 126 seats. Had the partymen been scared of the ULFA threat would they have hit the streets demanding party tickets
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