The writing on the wall was there for all to see as far as the future of the BJP-AGP alliance was concerned. That it took the AGP so late in the day to read it and end the marriage of convenience brings the regional party little credit. The meeting on Monday with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi was the absolute last chance for AGP to stick to the moral high ground. After all, the regional party had once announced it would part ways with BJP if the citizenship amendment bill comes to pass. Expectedly, Tuesday would be that day of reckoning as Rajnath Singh made clear; reportedly, he told the AGP delegation in no uncertain terms that the government will do all it can to ensure passage of the bill in Parliament on the last day of the winter session. Whether the bill clears Rajya Sabha remains to be seen, and it could well lay bare any last minute duplicity by parties that have so far opposed it. The decks had been cleared on Monday after the Union Cabinet gave its nod to the redrafted bill in line with recommendations made in the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) report. This came soon after the JPC report was tabled in Lok Sabha, signalling the end of a nearly 2-year contentious process following the introduction of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in 2016. The BJP has all along stuck to its game plan, having made this an electoral promise in 2014 and forcefully reiterated last Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Silchar where he asserted that his government will go forward with the bill, which in his words is “an atonement of the wrong that was done during India’s partition” and seeks “to safeguard all” who had been its victims. Whether parties like Congress and AIUDF will have the gumption to take a contrary stand to the bill in Barak Valley will bear watching in the coming days. Judging from BJP strategist Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent efforts to justify the bill and updated NRC as indispensable to fight Jinnah’s designs on Assam, the saffron party is likely to bank on polarising tactics in Lower Assam while making some overtures to indigenous communities in Upper Assam and North Bank. AGP chief Atul Bora now claims that his party had stayed on in the BJP-led government “hoping to solve the foreigners problem”, but surely his apparent naivete fools none. The AGP has paid heavily for its blatant opportunism, trying to have it both ways by clinging to power till the last moment while indulging in slanging matches that cut no ice with senior partner BJP. Though the recent panchayat elections in the State was primarily fought over local issues, significantly BJP as well as Congress made huge inroads in AGP bastions. There was rude comeuppance for AGP stalwarts in traditional strongholds like Bokakhat, Borhompur, Koliabor, Tezpur and Amguri, with only a few like Phani Bhusan Choudhury somewhat holding their own. The erosion in support for AGP at the grassroots ought to convince its leadership about the dire need to take strong and principled stand over regional issues, none more vital than the Central government’s move to tweak citizenship laws once again to Assam’s detriment. A party born of the Assam Accord, it would be political hara-kiri if the AGP remains a bystander when the proposed amendment seeks to make a mockery of this very accord by making religion a basis for aliens seeking citizenship.
Victory Down Under
When the touring Australians won the 2004 Test series in India to end a 35-year wait since 1969, it was hailed Down Under as conquest of the ‘Final Frontier’. On Monday, Virat Kohli’s merry men repaid in full that compliment, wrapping up a famous Test series victory in Sydney — the first ever in Australia by an Indian team since the two countries began playing Test cricket in 1947-48. Coach Ravi Shastri may have been indulging in characteristic hyperbole when he dubbed this feat by his wards “as big as the 1983 World Cup win if not bigger”, but the Kohli-led team is already being compared with Ajit Wadekar’s team that beat the Windies and the Brits in their backyard in 1971, the teams led by Kapil Dev and Rahul Dravid that bearded the English lion in its den in 1986 and 2007, and in between Sourav Ganguly’s men in 2004 who trumped Pakistan in Pakistan. For the record, Team India this time worsted the Aussies 2-1 with a draw in Sydney after wins at Adelaide and Melbourne. But so complete was the Indian dominance that a win seemed up for grabs in Sydney on the final day had not rain played spoilsport. Admittedly, the Aussies were without their best batsmen Steve Smith and Dave Warner, but it has raised cricketing eyebrows that not a single Aussie ton was registered in this series. In contrast, Virat Kohli led from the front with a magnificent century at bouncy Perth (albeit for a losing cause), ably complemented by Cheteswar Pujara with three tons to accumulate 521 runs (highest series total) and wicketkeeper Rishabh Patel with a swashbuckling 159 in Sydney. The fielding and catching was top class, a gratifying outcome of fitness culture in this team. The bowling unit was a revelation with Jasprit Bumrah the pick of the quicks, while chinaman Kuldip Yadav came into his own. Mayank Agarwal looks good to build on his two 70-plus scores to answer India’s opening woes; whether young Prithvi Shaw can become his able foil will be keenly followed. With the Oz odyssey now the stuff of cricketing lore, Team India has a new ‘Final Frontier’ ahead — South Africa.