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Opp parties decry BJP-AGP bonhomie

By PRANJAL BHUYAN

GUWAHATI, March 13 - Leaders of various opposition parties have criticised the renewed BJP-AGP alliance as being devoid of any principles, and accused the AGP of sacrificing its ideology and betraying the people of Assam for the �sake of power�.

�It is very unfortunate. The BJP�s stand on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill remains unchanged and its president Amit Shah also reaffirmed his party�s commitment to the Bill during an event at Lakhimpur recently. Despite this, the AGP has renewed its alliance with the BJP. The opportunistic face of the AGP has got exposed. The party has made it a habit of betraying the people of the State for the sake of power and it has done it once again. This proves that the AGP is power hungry,� Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia told The Assam Tribune.

He added that the AGP workers who are loyal to the ideology of regionalism will feel dejected due to the latest development.

�Lachit Bordoloi has already announced his decision to quit the AGP. We expect more desertions from the regional party,� said Saikia.

He discounted the possibility of any setback for the Congress in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls due to the BJP-AGP bonhomie.

�Our party stood firmly against the Bill. We never compromised. Our support base will, in fact, expand further among the Assamese people now,� said Saikia, who is also the Leader of the State Congress Legislature Party.

The AIUDF, too, accused the AGP of betraying the ideology of regionalism and sacrificing the interest of Assam for the sake of power.

�The BJP has always been a party devoid of any ideals and principles. Now, the AGP has also proved its own lack of principles by renewing the alliance with an anti-Assamese party like the BJP. The leaders of the AGP have exposed their true power-hungry character. The BJP has not given up its agenda regarding the Citizenship Bill, but that did not prevent the AGP from again embracing the saffron party. People of Assam will give a befitting reply to the BJP-AGP alliance in the polls,� said AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam.

CPI(M) central committee member Suprakash Talukdar said the AGP and the BJP lack ideological affinity. �Besides the issue of the Citizenship Bill, on other issues also the two parties have divergent points of view. For example, the AGP is against big dams while the BJP is for them. What is the basis of this alliance?� he said.

He said the BJP and the AGP will not be able to continue together for long. �It is an opportunistic alliance bereft of any ideological common factors and the tie-up has been formulated merely for the sake of electoral gains. It has no future,� he said.

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