3 ministers resign from BJP-led Assam govt

In a major blow to the government, three ministers of the Assam cabinet have submitted their resignation to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonwal.

This comes two days after the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a mark of protest against the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

On Wednesday, AGP leaders Atul Bora, Keshav Mahant and Phani Bhushan tendered their resignations to Sonowal.

A Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019 seeking to accord Indian citizenship to certain minority community refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan was passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid strong objections by some Opposition parties and a shutdown in the North Eastern parts of the country.

In this regard, AGP spokesperson Dilip Patgiri had told ANI "We have been saying for a long time that if Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is brought in Lok Sabha we will end our relationship with BJP. Our leaders met Home Minister (Rajnath Singh) and expressed that AGP is going to break the alliance," on Monday.

In the elections held in 2016 to elect members of 126-seat Assembly, the BJP had won 60 seats, Congress 26 and the AGP won 14 seats.