Guwahati: The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on Tuesday accused the city-based satellite news channel of the north-east, NETV, of having run a story alleging that the outfit had taken money from the Assam Government for withdrawing its call for boycott of the National Games. It has asked the news channel to close down if it cannot substantiate the story within a month.

In a statement issued through e-mail ULFA chief Paresh Barua alleged that the NETV ran a news item on January 27 saying the ULFA was willing to withdraw the boycott by taking money from the Government.

"If NETV cannot prove that we had taken money then it should totally leave from Assam within a month, failing which it will have to face dire consequences," the ULFA chief warned.

Channel's version

NETV chairperson and managing director Manoranjana Singh told The Hindu that the channel had never run any story on January 27 on the issue. "We did run a story on January 25 and not on January 27 as claimed by Mr. Barua that people in different circles were talking about the State Government having managed the ULFA through a company in Kolkata and that the scale of violence was expected to come down till the National Games were over," she said.

Ms. Singh said the ULFA chief's statement was in tune with the Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and came a day after Mr. Gogoi made a similar accusation in Delhi on Monday against the news channel for running a news story about a monetary deal between the Assam Government and the ULFA and threatening to file a defamation suit.

She said the channel would stand by the assertion that there was an understanding between the State Government and the ULFA.

"My channel and I will continue to insist that there is an understanding between the Congress and the ULFA, and thus between the State Government and the ULFA," she said.

To re-run story

On the ULFA's threat of "dire consequences" if the channel failed to substantiate its news report, Ms. Singh said there was nothing to substantiate "because we had never run any story as alleged by ULFA chief Paresh Barua."

"We will re-run the particular story that we ran on January 25 on Tuesday and Wednesday to tell the people what exactly we said," she said.

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