Asom Gana Parishad delegation leaves for Delhi, to form lobby against Bill

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A high-level team of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) led by its president Atul Bora left for New Delhi on Thursday to form a strong lobby against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, that the Centre is getting ready to pass the Bill in the upper house of the Parliament during the ongoing budget session that commenced also on Thursday.

The delegation members of the regional party will hold meetings with the leaders of various political parties including the allies of the UPA and the NDA to garner their support in the Rajya Sabha against the Bill. The prime objective of the crucial move is to ensure that the Bill does not get passed in the Upper House.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, senior AGP leader and former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said, “The Central Government should not impose the Citizenship Bill especially when the indigenous people of Assam and the Northeast are opposing it. In a democracy, masses’ voices must be paid heed to. All foreigners who came to Assam after the midnight of March 24, 1971, must be identified and deported from Assam.”

Referring to the recent breakdown of law-and-order situation in some parts of the State, Mahanta stated, “Provocative speeches of some BJP leaders added fuel to the fire that had been already burning over the Bill. The BJP must rein in such members of their party. If the situation gets worse, the government will be responsible for it.”

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