GUWAHATI, May 30 - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has assured to go for consultation with all the stakeholders on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to arrive at a consensus, said senior Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Birendra Prasad Baishya, who is all set to be declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha tomorrow.
Birendra Prasad Baishya and Kamakhya Prasad Tasa of the BJP are the only candidates for the two Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant on June 14 and they are set to be declared elected tomorrow, which is the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
Talking to The Assam Tribune today, Baishya pointed out that the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill lapsed after the dissolution of the last Lok Sabha and the BJP has already assured that it would go for a detailed consultation with all the stakeholders before bringing a new Bill. He also said that the stand of the AGP on the issue is very clear and there is no question of changing its stand.
This will be Baishya�s third term in the Parliament as he was earlier elected to Lok Sabha in 1996 when he was also inducted in the Union Cabinet, which was followed by a term in the Rajya Sabha. He said that he would raise the main issues concerning the people of Assam in the Upper House. He pointed out that the problem of infiltration of foreigners, implementation of all the clauses of the Assam Accord, flood and erosion, unemployment etc are some of the main issues concerning the people of Assam and assured that he would do his best to raise the issues forcefully on the floor of the Parliament. He also said that he would have discussions with his party colleagues and people in general on the issues that need to be raised in the Parliament to draw the attention of the Central Government.
Though several senior leaders of the AGP including former Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was opposed to the regional party�s alliance with the BJP in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, Baishya supported the alliance and said that it was the need of the hour. He said that though all the three candidates fielded by the AGP lost in the polls, all of them managed to give a tough fight. �Our Dhubri candidate managed to get nearly four lakh votes, while, the candidates in Barpeta and Kaliabor also managed to give tough fight to Congress candidates,� he added. He said that the party workers were rejuvenated because of the alliance and this would help in strengthening the regional party in the days to come.
Baishya expressed the hope that the alliance would continue in the days to come and �we are confident of forming the Government in the State again in 2021.� He said that he is satisfied with the performance of the BJP led State Government mainly because of the tough stand taken by it to check corruption in all levels of administration.
