Snap ties with BJP: Akhil Gogoi to AGP on Citizenship Bill

Peasant leader Akhil Gogoi today appealed to the Asom Gana Parishad to sever its alliance with the ruling BJP in view of the saffron party's move to pass the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 in Parliament.
He urged the AGP to try to form the government with other like-minded parties or face elections.
Gogoi, who is a leading RTI activist and was released from jail yesterday, announced that he would fight against the BJP and oppose any move to grant citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshi people.
"We appeal to AGP that it is time to come out of the alliance with BJP, which is trying to give citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis. The people of Assam have loved AGP a lot and now it is its responsibility to reciprocate," Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi told a press conference here.

"There is no point of breaking up the alliance after passing the Bill. That will be a big mistake. You (AGP) should come out immediately and try to form the government with other parties such as Bodoland People's Front and All India United Democratic Front.
"As the Congress is also opposed to the Bill, they may give outside support to the new government," Gogoi said, adding that if the AGP cannot form a government they should prepare for the elections. In such a case AGP seats in the assembly will increase manifold, he added.

Earlier in the day, the AGP said it strongly opposed any move to grant citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis and will work for the defeat of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in Parliament.

Gogoi announced that the KMSS will not allow the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 at "any cost" and appealed to all like-minded social and political groups to join hands to prevent passage of the Bill in Parliament.
"The BJP is misleading people by giving false data. After 1971, more than 20 lakh Hindus have come to Assam. Apart from those, if the Bill is passed, around 1.7 crore Hindus in Bangladesh can also come as per the Bureau of Standards. How will Assam take the load of an additional 1.9 crore people?" he asked.
Gogoi said the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 is a grave threat to the Assamese society and a challenge to the state's pride.

"BJP is a party of outsiders. It does not have any moral right to talk about indigenous people. Time has come to boycott (Chief Minister) Sarbananda Sonowal and (BJP Assam President) Ranjeet Kumar Dass," he added.
On September 12, Gogoi had told a rally at Moran that if Hindu migrants from Bangladesh were thrust upon Assam, the people of the state would be forced to take up arms. He was arrested the next day and was slapped with charges of sedition. On December 21, the Gauhati High Court declared the detention of Gogoi under the NSA illegal.