Militants desperate over losing support base: Patil

‘‘The militant groups are getting desperate and have thus taken to terrorising the common people,’’ said the Minister, describing the twin blasts in Dimapur (Nagaland) and the series of explosions across Assam as ‘‘acts of cowardice’’.

The Minister also visited Dhubri, where suspected National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants gunned down 14 in a market on Saturday. He said a multi-pronged strategy was being worked out to counter terrorism in Assam.

There was also a proposal to appoint a nodal officer in each state of the North-east for better coordination in counter-insurgency operations.

Patil, however, refused to admit that the situation, particularly in Assam, had once again reached alarming proportions. Instead, he urged the states to work jointly. He refused to divulge whether the government had confirmed which outfit was behind the twin blasts in Dimapur. He did, however, add that the incidents in the region would not affect the on-going talks with the NSCN (I-M).

On the question of holding talks with the ULFA and NDFB outfits, the Minister reiterated that doors were open ‘‘if they come forward without any precondition’’.

Assam Governor, Lt Gen (Retd) Ajai Singh, echoed Patil. ‘‘The militants are trying to tell the world that they are capable of creating nuisance…what they have realised is that they have lost all support.”