Rethink pulling out from coalition: Ram Madhav to Asom Gana Parishad

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: BJP’s national general secretary Ram Madhav has appealed to the AGP to reconsider its decision of pulling out from the coalition government at Dispur. The national leader of the BJP, on the other hand, has dropped a hint that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 may come up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha in the next session.

Talking to the media at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan in Guwahati on Thursday, Ram Madhav said: “We appeal to the AGP to reconsider its decision of pulling out from the government at Dispur. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal hasn’t yet sent the resignation letters of the three AGP ministers to the Raj Bhawan with the hope that the AGP will make a comeback. In the 2016 Assembly election, the BJP-AGP sought votes on an alliance, and the people of the State mandated them to rule the State. If the AGP stages a comeback, we can complete the five-year term together.”

The three AGP ministers – Atul Bora, Keshab Mahanta and Phani Bhushan Choudhury – tendered their resignation on January 9.

Madhav said: “There have been protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Assam. While some are protesting the Bill out of genuine concern, some are opposing it for political mileage. There are yet some others who oppose the Bill for creating unrest in the State. There has been unnecessary hype on the Bill. The Bill is not for Assam alone, it is for the entire nation. There have been reports that the Bill will lead to the entry of 1.90 crore people into Assam from Bangladesh. Such reports are far from truth. The Bill may come up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha in the next session.”

Madhav further said: “During the Partition, the people of Assam remained safe due to the leadership of Gopinath Bardoloi. However, many of them were not lucky enough and became a victim of the Partition. These people have nowhere to go, but India. India will have to accept them.”

Asked about the opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill by some BJP leaders and partner of the BJP-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the senior BJP leader said: “I’ll meet people’s representatives.”

On the ST status to six ethnic groups of the State, Madhab said: “According ST status to these six ethnic groups has been a long-standing demand. It was also a poll promise of the BJP in 2016. We’ve placed the Bill in Parliament. There have been misinterpretations on the Bill. The Bill is not going to affect the benefits of the existing ST(P) and ST(H) of the State. The six groups will be categorized either as ‘Other Tribes’ or ‘New Tribes’. The gossip mill has gone into overdrive that such issues haven’t been mentioned in the Bill. The reality remains that such matters are the prerogative of the State government concerned. It is for Dispur to determine reservation and other benefits to various STs in the State.”

Madhav said: “The Central government is updating the NRC in Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court of India and the RGI. Protection to culture, heritage, language and literature of the indigenous people of Assam as mentioned in Clause 6 of the Assam Accord is a must. We’re going to implement Clause 6, the soul of the Accord, including legislative safeguard. We’ve formed a high-power committee towards that end. We hope that the committee members will cooperate.”

On the national front, Madhav said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to form the next NDA government at the Centre. The Opposition alliance against Modi has no vision. Modi’s first tenure has been by and large honest, transparent and corruption free. His government took 129 schemes that have benefited 22/23 crore people in the country. During his tenure, barring a few areas in Chattishgarh, Maoists have been on the wane. Under Modi we’re going to see a ‘New India’ by 2020. This is our pledge.”

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