GUWAHATI, June 23 �Seeking the intervention of President Pranab Mukherjee, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today dashed off a memorandum to him calling for an immediate halt to any transfer of Assam�s land to Bangladesh under the recently-inked land swap deal.
Condemning the ongoing inspection of the Indo-Bangla border at the Mankachar area by a team of Bangladeshi officials, the AGP said that its South Salmara district committee members today held a demonstration outside the Hatsingimari circuit house, where the Bangladeshi delegation was present, and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
�At a time when people of the entire State has come out to protest against any attempt to hand over Assam�s land to Bangladesh and even after the Central Government had failed in its attempt to table the Constitutional Amendment Bill for the land swap deal in the Parliament, the AGP deplores the fact that the State Government has invited a team of government officials from Bangladesh and taken them on a tour of the border areas by keeping the people of Assam in the dark,� the party said in a press release.
The AGP termed the State Government�s decision to host the Bangladeshi delegation as �against the Constitution� and warned the Government to be ready to face protests.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also protested against the visit of the Bangladesh officials and said sentiments of the people of Assam should be taken into account.
The AASU burned effigies of Singh and Gogoi and asserted that the student organsation would never accept �handing over of Assam�s land to Bangladesh.�
Meanwhile, local sources in Dhubri said that a six-member team of officials from the Land and Revenue directorate of Bangladesh was on a �routine visit.� The sources said that among other places, the delegation, accompanied by Assam Government officials, inspected parts of the Kakripara area including the area near Pillar No. 1,068 in the international border.
