GUWAHATI, May 20 � Members of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today took out a procession in the city in support of its demand for retaining the Special State status of Assam, according scheduled tribe (ST) status to the six ethnic groups of the State and steps to arrest the hike in the prices of essential items.
The procession led by party president Atul Bora, former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, former president of the party Thaneswar Boro, AGP Legislature Party Leader Phani Bhusan Choudhury, former Union Minister Birendra Prasad Baishya, among others, paraded the main thoroughfares of the city from the Ambari headquarters of the party to Panbazar.
The participants of the procession shouted slogans against the �anti-Assam� stands of the Congress Government in the State and the BJP-led Government at the Centre. They also held a protest meeting in front of the Meghdoot Bhawan near the Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner�s office.
Addressing the meeting, party president Atul Bora alleged that the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre has revoked the earlier decision of the Central Government to treat Assam as a Special Category State.
This has affected the State�s economy seriously. Prafulla Kumar Mahanta alleged that both the Congress and the BJP are conspiring to make Assam a part of Bangladesh, said a party statement.