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AGP team meets Bihar CM

By The Assam Tribune

PATNA, Sept 29 - An eight-member delegation of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar here and sought the JD(U) support against the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in Parliament.

The delegation was led by AGP president and Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora and former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. The party is an ally of the BJP in the Assam government.

The delegation submitted a memorandum to Nitish Kumar, who is also the JD(U) national president, urging him to extend his party�s support and cooperation, both inside and outside Parliament, to prevent the passage of the Bill.

The Bill is likely to be tabled in the Winter Session of Parliament.

�It is learnt that the Janata Dal (United) under your leadership is raising objection against the passage of the Bill... We urge you to do the needful so that the Bill cannot get through Parliament. We solicit your kind cooperation both inside and outside Parliament,� Bora said in the memorandum.

AGP leaders Keshab Mahanta, Phanibhushan Choudhary, Birendra Prasad Baishya, Brindavan Goswami, Ramendra Narayan Kalita and Kamala Kalita were also part of the delegation.

JD(U) national general secretary KC Tyagi and party MLC Sanjay Kumar Singh were also present at the meeting that took place at Nitish Kumar�s official residence.

The JD(U), after disintegration of the grand alliance in Bihar in July 2017, joined hands with the BJP to form an NDA government in the state.

In a resolution passed at its national executive meeting in New Delhi on July 8, the JD(U) had opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, terming it a clear threat to the indigenous languages and the culture of Assam.

The JD(U) in its resolution had asked the Centre to work towards mitigating the people�s concerns about the Bill.

Brought by the government in Parliament in 2016, the Bill seeks to make Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenship after a stay of six years.

�If the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 is passed in the Parliament, it will certainly frustrate the very purpose of the National Register of Citizens and if the six communities referred to herein above are given citizenship it will affect the language, culture and economy of Assam and as such, we as a regional party strongly oppose the aforesaid Bill,� the AGP said. � PTI

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