Guwahati, Dec 30 : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said people have lost faith in the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and want peace and development in the state.

Talking to reporters here on the sidelines of the flagging off of three new trains at the Kamakhya Railway Station, Gogoi said: "People have lost complete faith in the ULFA. They do not want insurgency to continue."

Gogoi also said he was in no hurry to start peace talks with ULFA.

"Most of the leaders today are behind the jail. Let''s wait and see. I am not in a hurry. There is no point in being over optimistic. What I say is I am a realistic man," he added. The ULFA has been dealt several body blows with the arrest of the group''s top leaders, including Rajkhowa, Raju Baruah, Chitraban Hazarika and Sacha Chaudhary.

Police believe that the group''s military commander, Paresh Barua, is hiding somewhere along the Myanmar-China border.

The ULFA has been running a three-decade-old campaign that has claimed the lives of 30,000 people so far. (ANI)