Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Assam, snapped ties with the saffron party on January 7 after disagreement over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016.
After meeting Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Monday, AGP president Atul Bora said that they have come out of the alliance for the greater interest of the state.
“We have met almost everyone including the Joint Parliamentary Committee, president, prime minister among other and requested them to scrap the bill but unfortunately that didn’t happen. As we were part of the government, we tried our best staying with the government. But we have realised that the BJP government is bound to pass the bill. After meeting home minister Rajnath Singh, we are sure about that,” AGP president Atul Bora said.
AGP has always been opposing the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, ever since it was tabled in the parliament.
Earlier in the day, AGP founder president and former two time Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said that the party had already decided to part ways with the saffron party.
AGP leadership also faced much criticism from the civil society and various groups and organizations for continuing their alliance over the issue of the bill.
It forced the regional party to go alone in the recently concluded panchayat elections in the state. But it failed to impress in the rural polls.
