AGP draws flake for not snapping ties with BJP

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stirred a row over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) drew flak even from within for failing to come out of the alliance with the saffron party.

While the regional political party has been announcing that it will break the alliance if the BJP goes ahead with the Citizenship Bill, pressure is mounting on it to break ties with the BJP after Modi made it clear that his government was going ahead with the Bill.

"Pressure is mounting on the party leadership to break the alliance with BJP. While some leaders feel the party should come out of the alliance immediately, there is a faction which believes the AGP should wait till the last moment," said a senior party leader on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

He said the majority of the youth workers of the party were unhappy over the AGP top brass' silence over the issue.

"How long is the AGP going to wait? Our leaders say that the party will not tolerate passage of the controversial Bill. However, the leaders are silent even after the Prime Minister made it clear that it will be passed soon," said a youth leader of the party.

He warned that the AGP would lose the confidence of the people it does not come out of the alliance with the BJP.

The AGP and Bodo People's Front (BPF) are members of the BJP-led ruling dispensation in Assam. The AGP and BPF have three legislators each.

--IANS

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