GUWAHATI: With the ruling BJP in Assam maintaining a firm stand in favour of enactment of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, it has put its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in a pix given the regional party’s known stand against the Bill. The AGP is a partner in the ruling coalition led by the BJP and has three ministers in Sarbananda Sonowal’s cabinet.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 that is facing stiff opposition from indigenous communities in Assam valley where the AGP has its base. The regional party too has hit the street in protest against the Bill, but has not been able to muster enough boldness to snap ties with the BJP and leave the government over the opposite stand of the BJP regarding the Bill.
The AGP which maintains its official stand against the Bill ‘that threatens the identity of indigenous communities at stake’ by facilitating grant of citizenship to large number of Hindu Bengali refugees from Bangladesh, is facing tremendous pressure from various indigenous people’s organizations to snap ties with the BJP and pull out of the ruling alliance.
The AGP had even threatened to snap ties with BJP if the Bill is passed in the Parliament ignoring the strong opposition of people from Assam. But the BJP which has 61 MLAs in 126-member Assam Assembly has not shown any concern towards the AGP’s stand putting the regional party in a fix.
The AGP president and Assam’s Agriculture Minister Atul Bora has stated that AGP would continue to fight against the Bill by staying in the government led by the BJP much to the chargrin of organisations opposing the Bill.
The AGP president said that the BJP-led government wouldn’t fall if the BJP pulls out of it and snap ties with the BJP hence it is better to fight against the Bill by remaining within the government. “We are in the government because of the mandate given by the people for it. We can’t leave the government midway. However, if the Bill is finally passed in the Parliament, we will no longer remain in the government,” he said.
The AGP had entered into pre-poll alliance with the BJP before 2016 Assembly election in Assam and won 14 seats while the BJP won 61 seats. The which was reduced to a minion in Assam politics following consecutive poll debacles in 2001, 2002 and 2011 managed to win somewhat respectable number of seats riding the Modi wave by being BJP’s ally in 2016 Assembly polls in Assam.