Assam’s regional political party — Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Thursday observed a black day across the State in protest against the Central Government’s move on Wednesday to introduce a Constitutional Amendment Bill to facilitate the swap of land enclaves with Bangladesh.
The party burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the copy of the Bill across the State and vowed to register strong protest throughout the State during the next visit of the Prime Minister to Assam, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Assam.
The AGP legislators also staged a walkout from the ongoing Assam Assembly Sessionn after the Speaker did not allow a discussion on the issue of the Indo-Bangla land swap deal. The BJP also protested outside the Assam Assembly over the proposed deal between the two countries.
The AGP legislators also met Assam Governor JB Patnaik on Thursday and informed him about the party’s opposition to the proposed deal. The party also demanded his intervention over the issue.
“The Prime Minister and the Assam Chief Minister had visited Bangladesh in 2011 without discussing the issue with the people of Assam, the political parties and civil society organisations signed a protocol agreement in this regard. Since then the Central Government had been trying to pass the Bill in the House in the most undemocratic manner,” said AGP spokesman Durgadas Boro while addressing the media.
“Our MPs — Birandra Prasad Baishya and Deepak Dad — had vehemently opposed the Bill in the Rajya Sabha in the past. However, the Congress-led UPA Government had again introduced the Bill in the the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday even if the matter was not listed. This exposes the Congress’ outlook for Assam,” Boro said, while adding that the AGP would oppose the land swap deal in future and the Congress Government at the Centre and State will be responsible for any situation that arises out of our protest.
The land agreement was signed during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Dhaka in 2011 as the protocol to the 1974 land boundary demarcation between the two countries. In this agreement, the issue of exchange of ‘adversely possessed land’ in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal along the Indo-Bangladesh border was finalised.