Against further division of Assam, says Mahanta

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 17: Former Assam Chief Minister

Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has said that his party is opposed to any further division of Assam. The founder AGP president said this in the backdrop of the demand for a separate state or union territory by some organizations from the Barak Valley in the aftermath of the publication of part draft NRC.

The former chief minister was addressing the media here on Wednesday. When asked for comments on the separate State demand from Barak Valley, Mahanta said: “We don’t want further division of Assam. Earlier the Congress governments did form smaller states with the hope of development. However, we’re opposed to that model. On the part of the organizations, raising such a demand is their right.”

When asked on the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, Mahanta said: “In the event of the Bill getting its passage in Parliament, minorities who entered India up to December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan are to get Indian citizenship. Such an event is set to violate the Assam Accord and secular feature of the Constitution of India. We expect that the Centre won’t pass such a Bill.”

Mahanta further expressed his hope that the ruling coalition at Dispur is going to translate all poll promises. When asked on Cabinet expansion at Dispur, the former chief minister said: “It’s the Chief Minister’s prerogative. It’s the Chief Minister who has to decide the new faces and their number to be inducted into his Cabinet.” The 19-member Assam Cabinet has eleven ministers, including the Chief Minister now, and it has eight berths vacant.