GUWAHATI, July 6 � The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today demanded that the Prime Minister should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. Meanwhile, the party executive today turned down the resignation of party president Chandra Mohan Patowary.
The AGP executive met for the first time today since the election debacle and though Patowary submitted his resignation owning moral responsibility for the poor show of the regional party in the last Assembly elections, the executive committee rejected the resignation. The party executive has asked Patowary to continue as president till the general conference of the party due in October.
Meanwhile, talking to The Assam Tribune Patowary said that the AGP representatives who attended the recent all party meet convened by the Central Government had already made the party's stand clear on the issue of inclusion of Prime Minister in the purview of the proposed Lokpal Bill. The party demanded that the Lokpal Bill should be introduced in the ensuing session of the Parliament. The party also observed that most of the major financial scams took place during Congress regime and that is why the UPA Government has not taken any step to bring back the black money deposited in foreign banks.
The AGP is of the view that the ruling party managed to tamper the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the last elections and decided to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the use of EMVs in elections. The executive committee of the party also reviewed the election results in an attempt to find out the reasons for the poor show of the party and decided to re-organize the party from the grass root level before the next general conference.
The regional party today demanded that a comprehensive land policy should be formulated by the Government keeping in mind the interests of the indigenous people of the State and said that the Government should not launch drive to evict the indigenous people without ensuring their rehabilitation in suitable areas.
On the issue of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the AGP demanded that the citizenship document should be updated with a time bound programme. The AGP strongly criticized the Government for its failure to control the prices of essential commodities and decided to launch a movement on this issue. The party observed that the Congress adopted double standard on the issue of price rise and the prices soared immediately after the elections.
The AGP also re-iterated its opposition to construction of mega dams in the highly seismic areas like Assam.
