*RAW using literary body to oppose sovereignty demand: ULFA *
http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/21/stories/2007012104380800.htm Special Correspondent *Asam Sahitya Sabha president denies the allegation * Guwahati: The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on Saturday accused the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of using the Asam Sahitya Sabha, the apex literary body of the State, to oppose the outfit's demand for "protection of Assam's sovereignty." Reacting to a statement of the Sabha, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa alleged that the RAW had devised a strategy of opposing the "sovereignty demand from the platform of the Sahitya Sabha" through a "secret understanding between the RAW and Sabha president Kanak Sen Deka." Asked to comment on the ULFA charge, Mr. Deka said: "The ULFA is nothing but a bunch of people wielding guns who have nothing to do with the development of Assam and the Assamese people. If the ULFA is questioning the jurisdiction of the Sabha, then let me ask them to define the boundaries of the sovereign Assam they are talking about. Nobody in Assam today supports the ULFA. The common man wants to come out of this cycle of violence. Let them prove that I am working on behalf of the RAW and I will quit as the Sabha president as well as my public life." `Not in individual capacity' He also clarified that he had not issued the statement on Friday in his individual capacity and had only spelt out the stand of the Sabha. Mr. Deka told reporters on Friday that the Sabha did not support any secessionist activities and considered the State an integral part of India. The literary body also said the allegation made by secessionist organisations that colonial rule was imposed on Assam through the Constitution was only a conspiracy detrimental to Assam's interest. The ULFA chairman, however, said the outfit had not raised the demand for "protection of Assam's sovereignty" before the Asam Sahitya Sabha and the rejection of the demand from the platform of the literary body did not reflect the desire of indigenous people. Mr. Rajkhowa alleged that through Mr. Deka, the RAW wanted the Sabha to reject the sovereignty demand since it was the only issue which the ULFA was willing to discuss with the Government of India. He also alleged that Mr. Deka and the newspaper edited by him have become a "mouthpiece of colonial India" and urged the people of Assam not to allow the Sabha to be used as "a weapon of colonial exploitation and rule."
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