Rajkhowa says ULFA is ready for peace talks

ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has indicated that the banned militant outfit is ready for peace talks.

"I want to clear my stand that I still stand for the cause of the Assamese people. We are against the domination of Assamese community by mainstream India.

"We do not want our revolution to end but there should be a peaceful solution to it, preferably in a constitutional way. I want peace talks to restart and conclude...That is why I have come forward to carry on my agenda," he was quoted as having told North East TV channel.

While 53-year-old Rajkhowa claimed that reports of his "arrest" were aimed at creating confusion and "derailing" the peace process in Assam, intelligence sources had yesterday said that the ULFA chairman had surrendered to Indian security forces in Agartala and brought here by a flight from the Tripura capital late last evening.

Rajkhowa said: "I am speaking to you from the same location in Bangladesh from where I normally speak from. Those who say that I have been arrested are deliberately trying to create confusion. They want to derail the peace process in Assam even before it can begin."