3 AGP Ministers are likely to join BJP soon: AJP leader Pabindra Deka

GUWAHATI: Pabindra Deka, the Assam MLA who recently resigned from the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) before going on to join the rival regional party Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP), today claimed that all 3 AGP Ministers in the Sarbananda Sonowal Cabinet (Atul Bora, Keshav Mahanta, and Phani Bhusan Choudhury) will go on to join the BJP "within a few years or a few months."

"The AGP in the last few years has lost touch with the regional character and regional nationalism of the party. They have violated the Constitution of the AGP. They are now implementing the programs of the BJP. They have lost regional characteristics. After a few months or a few years, they are likely to merge with the BJP and join the BJP," Deka said, launching a venom-laced tirade at his former partymates.

Earlier in the week, Pabindra Deka quit the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), citing the party’s alleged failure to address concerns over the Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA. He submitted his resignation papers to party president Atul Bora.

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The 69-year-old was one of the founder members of the AGP, which was formed in 1985, after signing of the Assam Accord that ended a six-year agitation against illegal Bangladeshis.

The AGP is a member of the ruling coalition in Assam, which is headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); the coalition also has the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF). The AGP has 14 members in the 126-member assembly; three of them are ministers.

“I am quitting AGP as it failed to represent aspirations of indigenous Assamese people and protect their rights. The party is working under the dictates of BJP. The party also failed to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act, which seeks to grant citizenship to religious minorities from Bangladesh,” Deka said on Tuesday, addressing the press.

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