Yet another partner dumped the BJP on Monday with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) pulling out of the BJP-led Government in Assam in protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill after the Centre refused its plea to withdraw the Bill. In the 126-member Assembly, the AGP has 14 MLAs, of whom three, including AGP president Atul Bora, are Ministers.
Despite AGP’s pullout, the Sarbananda Sonowal-led Government is safe as the BJP has 61 MLAs and it also enjoys the support of 12 MLAs of the Bodoland People’s Front and the sole Independent legislator.
“We tried to convince the Centre that the Bill was against the Assam Accord and will nullify the ongoing updating of the National Register of Citizens...But (Rajnath) Singh told us clearly that it will be passed in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. After this, there is no question of remaining in the alliance,” Bora told reporters after a meeting Rajnath here.
The proposed Bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. AGP, Shiv Sena, Congress, TMC among several other political parties and organisations have opposed the Bill contending that it would have an adverse impact on the demography of the sensitive border State.
Asked if the Ministers have tendered their resignations, Bora said, “We will do that after reaching Guwahati. We felt betrayed at the BJP’s attitude towards the Bill as when we entered into the alliance, we were convinced Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to resolve the issue of illegal migrants...We regret entering into an alliance with the BJP.”
The BJP had promised to ensure the passage of the Bill in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election. The AGP and other groups in Assam have said that the provisions of the Bill will nullify the 1985 Assam Accord, which provides for deportation of all illegal migrants, irrespective of religion, who had entered the State after March 1971.