Skip to content Skip to navigation

BJP draws flak over land deal somersault

By AT News |

After months of intense debate and controversy, BJP has cleared the decks for the Indo-Bangla land swap deal in its original format triggering a massive protest across the state. State BJP leaders have blamed it all on the erstwhile Congress-led government after the central leadership apprised them of the position at a crucial meeting in New Delhi on Monday. 

“We don’t want Assam to give even an inch of land to Bangladesh. Since it was signed by the erstwhile NDA government we can’t change the format. Even if want we don’t have number in Parliament. Had Congress supported us we won’t have done it,” said state president Siddharth Bhattachaya.

“It sounds strange. The BJP which has been trying to woo the people opposing the deal so long is set to support in Parliament? That too two days after the cabinet decided to exempt Assam. We doubt BJP’s intension,” said an AGP leader. He said that Congress and BJP are two sides of a coin.

AASU leaders are equally angry with the Narendra Modi government. Talking to Assam Times over telephone, AASU leaders called the Modi government a big betrayer. 

“How the party decided to support the bill hardly 48 hours after the cabinet removed Assam from the purview of the land swap deal? We won’t allow it to happen,” said AASU leaders saying that a massive movement is the only option before the people.

Same anger is seen in Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad. AJYCP leaders told Assam Times that they won’t sit idle. “We will prevent the Centre from implementing the deal. We will fight,” they rued. 

Notably, New Delhi and Dhaka struck the deal when the UPA was in power. Then BJP maintained a studied silence. In his poll rally, Narendra Modi flayed the UPA government for striking the deal without honouring the sentiments of the people. 

During his maiden visit as prime minister Modi started advocating the deal saying that it would help the state check infiltration from across the border. 

On May 2, the Union cabinet exempted Assam from the purview of the deal much to a major relief for lakhs of people. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the Modi government was honouring the sentiments of the people. 

Two days after on May 4, party president Amit Shah invited BJP MPs and state president Siddharth Bhattacharya and apprised them of no option but to support the deal citing lack of numbers in the Rajya Sabha.

 

Add new comment

Random Stories

Tribute to APJ with a difference

29 Jul 2015 - 9:59am | Anamika Dutta
The massive homage for Dr APJ Abdul Kalam seems to have brought an artist to limelight in Lumding.Popularly known as Gautam Bardhan, the painting artist in Lumding has paid his tribute to the former...

MPs stress peace & harmony

10 Oct 2015 - 9:25pm | AT News Itanagar
Arunachal Pradesh MP Ninnong Ering on Saturday urged the people to help the police and administration to maintain peace and harmony in the state. Addressing a function organized to open Mary’s...

Friendship Forum to boost Assam-Nagaland ties

4 Jun 2013 - 11:18am | Ritupallab Saikia
At a time when Assam and Nagaland are embroiled in bitterness with both the states declaring blockade and other prohibitions against each other, there comes a piece of good news that some prominent...

No sadistic pleasure in the jungle

29 Dec 2014 - 1:26pm | AT News
Rebel poets on Monday observed that they did not take sadistic pleasure at all in the killings.Participating in panel discussion on “In the Shadow of Gun: Literature from a Conflict Zone” on the last...

Other Contents by Author

Anup Chetia extradition in February

ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia’s extradition is imminent. Union home minister has left for Dhaka on Monday where is set to sign the extradition treaty. The treaty will be signed during the home minister's visit to Bangladesh on Monday.The extradition treaty will pave the way for deportation of jailed ULFA 'general secretary' Anup Chetia, Tripura insurgent leader Vishwa Mohan Deb Barman, NDFB leader Thulunga alias Tensu Narzery and many other insurgents from the northeast who have been hiding in Bangladesh.New Delhi has been mounting pressure on Dhaka for Chetia's deportation since long. The ULFA leader has been in a Dhaka jail following his arrest in 1997 on the charge of entering...

Major fire in Nalbari, Lakhmpur

Properties worth Rs 1 crore has been reduced to ashes when a major fire broke out in Nalbari town on Monday. The fire broke out at a garment shop because of an electric short circuit in the wee hours which later engulfed the adjacent shops. Five fire tenders took several hours to douse the fire.Similarly, a devastating fire broke in Lakhimpur town on Monday damaging  goods worth several lakhs in the morning.       

Dhubri trader hurt in shoot out

The local businessman injured in the shocking shoot out in Dhubri is battling for life on Monday. Police have yet to nab the miscreants involved in the incident that rocked the district hours after the post Republic Day. The incident took place in Gauripur when unidentified miscreants started indiscriminate firing at Daschok at around 7-30 in the evening.Gauripur police rushed to the spot and the local residents admitted the businessman to the hospital. But the miscreants managed to flee from the spot.

Police cracks Kidnap drama; 5 held

Guwahati police claimed to have arrested a gang of notorious kidnappers I connection with the kidnap of a Guwahati-based hotelier’s son two months ago.Police on Saturday night arrested five persons including a woman from Silchar who kidnapped the son of a businessman  from Sonapur in November and demanded Rs 1 crore for safe release. Later they freed the boy for  Rs 50 lakh as ransom. The women prepared the entire blueprint. Interrogation is going on at Panbazar police station. 

Big dam protest to resume

Anti-big dam protest will take an aggressive turn as NHPC resumes construction of the projects at Gerukamukh. Addresng a press conference in Guwahati n Sunday, KMSS and AJYCP and TMPK have threatened to resume massive agitation if the works are not stopped immediately.KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi said that NHPC has gone back to its promises  six months after it promised to stop working. Miffed at these development, the three organizations are preparing to go all out against it.

Tricolor hoisted at press club

Defying the diktat of separatist militants in northeast India, the media fraternity of the city has celebrated the 64th Republic Day of India at Guwahati Press Club. Following the tradition, the media persons and other patriotic citizens had assembled in the campus of the pioneer press club of the region in the morning today and hoisted the national flag. Social worker and a former legislator of Assam, Ajay Dutta unfurled the tricolor in presence of the media persons and paid his heartfelt tributes to the martyrs of India’s Freedom movement.In his brief speech, Dutta remembered the contribution of thousands of martyrs for their sacrifices which finally brought the freedom to India. He paid...

Dixit assures Sukafa statue in Delhi

The Delhi government has agreed to set up a statute of Chaolung Sukapha in the national capital. The assurance came from Delhi Chief minister Sheila Dixit who talked to her Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi. Before that Gogoi in a letter requested Dixit to consider the proposal to set up the first Ahom king in the national capital. The initiative assumes significance after the government invited unprecedented criticism for not giving due status to the Ahom king.

Bomber lynched in mob attack

Local residents in Goalpara district beat him a suspected militant to death on Saturday night. Three motorcycles suspected to have been used by the militants were recovered from the area.One bomb is suspected to be concealed in the MLA's house and a bomb disposal squad of the police reached the place, they added. Another IED went off at Jaleshwar High School. The other explosions in Goalpara district took place at Moriakichi Bazar, Gaurnagar, Porahita and Jamadar Bazar areas. In Dhubri, the areas hit by the blasts are Airketa, Sirajkuthi and Metarteri.

Serial blast rocks Goalpara, Dhubri

A series of low intensity blasts has forced the security forces to fan in lower Assam on Sunday. Suspected ULFA militants on Saturday night set off eight IED blasts in a space of 90 minutes targeting the house of an AIDUF MLA and crowded markets in Goalpara and Dhubri districts. There, is, however, no report of casualty.ULFA, along with some other insurgents group, gave a call for boycotting the Republic Day celebrations. The first blast took place inside the residential complex of Moinuddin Ahmed, MLA of All India Democratic United Front, at Jaleshwar in Goalpara district.

20 injured in Guwahati bus mishap

Over 20 people have been injured when a passenger bus slipped into deep gorge in near Guwahati on Saturday.The accident took place at around 2-30 in the afternoon when the passenger bus was on its way to Kamakhya and suddenly it lost control and fell on a gorge where several people were rescued by police and local residents.