Condemnations pour in over attacks in Asom

New Delhi, Jan 7 (UNI) Congress President and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and various political parties today strongly condemned the ULFA triggered serial attacks on migrants workers in Asom during the last two days.

Ms Gandhi described the attacks as ''senseless killing of innocent, harmless, unarmed poor people'' adding, such violence, instead of leading to any solution, would only retard the economic progress of the state.

''I am pained and feel deeply for those unfortunate victims and their loved ones,'' she said while offering condolences to the members of the bereaved families.

The Congress president appealed to the people of the northeastern state to maintain peace and tranquility in ''this hour of difficulty.'' Mr Prasad termed the killings ''extremely reprehensible''.

He cautioned that extreme caution should be taken to ensure that there was no backlash in Bihar.

The RJD President, who will be leaving for Tinsukia tomorrow along with Minister of State for Water Resources Jai Prakash Narayan Yadav, said he had already talked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Asom Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in this connection.

''The killings are brutal and unfortunate. We should not forget the fact that people from Bihar, who have settled in Asom, have made enormous contributions to its development,'' he said, adding that the killings must be condemned in the strongest possible term.

BJP President Rajnath Singh said the ''cowardly'' killing of non-Asomese by ULFA had once again showed the Centre's ''inept handling'' of the country's internal security.

''This unfortunate event is a direct result of the Congress party's and the government's soft stand on terror and separatists...It is evident now that the Congress government at the Centre has lost all the advantages gained during the NDA regime over ULFA terror,'' he said in a statement.

Expressing ''shock and outrage'' at the mass killings, the CPI(M) said ULFA had once again shown its ''reactionary character'' by targeting poor workers who had gone to the state to earn livelihoods.

''Such dastardly acts will further isolate ULFA from the people of Asom. The state government has once again proved its incapacity to deal firmly with such terrorist activities,'' the CPM Polit Bureau said in a statement.

It also impressed upon the state government to call a meeting of all political parties in order to eveolve a common approach to deal with the problem.

Lok Janshakti Party president Ram Vilas Paswan demanded proper compensation to the victims of the attacks and urged the government to ensure free treatment to the injured.

Mr Paswan, in a letter to the Prime Minister, has urged for taking adequate security measures so that such incidents should not recur in the future.

Condemning the serial attacks Assam Linguistic Minority Development Board Vice Chairman Chitto Pal alleged that the banned outfit was playing into the hands of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

He urged the State and Union governments to take all necessary measures to protect the life and property of minorities in the State.

ULFA triggered a series of coordinated blasts and shootings since Friday night killing at least 48 people in Tinsukia, Dhemaji and Dibrugarh districts of Upper Asom. Most of those killed were Hindi-speaking migrant labourers.

The bout of violence came barely a day after Home Secretary V K Duggal reviewed the security situation in the north-eastern state in view of the 33rd National Games in Guwahati from February 9.

UNI