GUWAHATI, Dec 30 - The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has called upon the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodoland People�s Front (BPF) to seriously consider quitting the ruling NDA alliance for the �sake of Assamese society� and said it is willing to have a sort of minimum understanding with both the regional parties as well as with other non-political outfits to defeat any attempt to have the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, passed by the Parliament.
AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam told The Assam Tribune that the Badruddin Ajmal-led party is ready to join a single platform with other political and non-political forces to ensure that the Bill is not adopted.
�The stand taken by the AGP in opposing the Bill is commendable. But before the push comes to shove, parties like AGP and BPF should leave the NDA. If they quit the alliance, it will be good for the future of Assam,� said Islam, who is known as a confidante of party president Ajmal.
However, when asked if the AIUDF is willing to help the AGP prop up an alternative government in Assam if the regional party quits NDA over the Bill, Islam refused to give a direct answer and only reaffirmed that all �jatiyatabadi� forces must join hands.
�We cannot allow any policy, which will sound the death knell of Assamese jatiyatabad, to be implemented,� he said.
Islam added, �We believe that all jatiyatabadi forces including non-political outfits like AASU, AJYCP, Asam Sahitya Sabha, KMSS, as well as regional parties like AGP and BPF should come under one platform to oppose the Bill. We are ready to be part of any such effort. There is need for a united platform to save Assam and Assamese society and culture. We are already witnessing events like vandalism of AASU office in upper Assam, something which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. If the Bill is passed, soon a time will come when there will be �dictatorship of Kolkata� here.�
The AIUDF leader said that only a concerted effort of all regional forces can act as a deterrent as far as the Bill in concerned.
�The Bill, is passed, will threaten the very fabric of our society. It will change the demography of Assam. If the State BJP believes it can win votes using the Bill, then it is wrong. If the legislation is enacted, it will cause serious erosion to the BJP�s support base among the locals,� Islam said.
