Assam ready for talk with rebels - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Assam's Revenue Minister Bhumithar Burman said on Tuesday the government was ready to talk to rebels after Nalbari town was rocked by twin blasts recently. Six persons died and around 40 were injured in the twin blasts, which rocked Nalbari town on Sunday. Burman said the provincial government was ready for talks with the rebel outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), adding that strict action win in the offing against the rebels. "Our government is ready to talk to ULFA. But, they have crossed the limit. We have to take strict action. So we have put the city on red alert. We need to give the people a sense of security," said Burman. Security has been stepped up in the state with the police setting up check posts and frisking people. Bombs hidden in bicycles exploded in front of a police station and a shopping complex in Nalbari, about 70 km (43 miles) west of state capital Dispur on Sunday. A third blast was reported to have happened in a market area five minutes after the first two. Police said the separatist ULFA was behind the blasts, but a senior rebel leader telephoned local newspaper offices and television stations to deny its involvement. The blasts came soon after New Delhi announced the government will provide safe passage to top rebel leaders willing to talk and find a lasting solution to the decades old insurgency in the state. Security forces have placed the entire tea-and oil-rich Assam state on high alert.