Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has issued a show-cause notice to Tea Tribes and Employment Minister Sanjoy Kishan for apologising to chief of United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) Paresh Baruah, Northeast Now reported on Saturday.
The separatist outfit, commonly known as ULFA(I), was banned by the Indian government in 1990.
On May 15, the ULFA(I) had given Kishan a 24-hour ultimatum to publicly apologise for calling Baruah a liar. The minister had called him a liar for saying that Biju Gogoi, a member of the organisation, had died by suicide at the outfit’s camp in February, Northeast Now reported.
The ULFA(I) warned that Kishan will be boycotted from public functions in Assam’s Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts if he fails to apologise.
Hours later, the minister had issued an apology.
In the show-cause notice, Sarma has asked Kishan to explain why he apologised to Baruah.
“Our Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is trying to create an atmosphere to bring ULFA (I) to the negotiating table to establish peace in Assam,” the minister had said earlier. “And I don’t want that atmosphere to be disturbed. I just talked about some youths joining ULFA and if my comment hit the sentiment of Paresh Baruah in any way, I seek apology for that.”
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