With the ULFA carrying out as many as 12 explosions in the span of one week, leaving three persons killed and over 100 injured, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today appealed to the public to exert pressure on the militants to abjure violence and establish peace in the state.Peace processions and rallies were organised throughout the state today under the auspices of the respective district administrations, with the Chief Minister himself leading one in Guwahati in which over 5,000 people took part.Criticising the militants for pushing the state behind in matters of development, Gogoi appealed to the people to build up a resistance movement in the form of peace rallies.‘‘We want to build a prosperous Assam and for that to happen the militant outfits must come forward to solve their problems through peaceful and democratic means,’’ he said, adding that even the NSCN(I-M) had realised the futility of violence and come forward for negotiations.Earlier, Gogoi also convened a citizens’ meeting at the State Secretariat here yesterday, which unanimously appealed to the ULFA to give up violence and come forward to hold discussions with the government to find out a solution to the 25-year-old insurgency that has disrupted development in the state.The meeting also appealed to the Centre to initiate a dialogue with the ULFA in the same pattern as has been done with the NSCN(I-M) and suggested that a mediator enjoying good rapport with both the government and the militant outfit should be appointed to start preliminary discussions.Lauding the initiative taken by noted litterateur Indira Goswami to bring the ULFA to the negotiation table, Gogoi said the government would extend all possible help to any individual or organisation who helps in finding a solution to the problem of insurgency in the state.
