Seeking wider political support to its mission on checking a “harmful” national law in the making, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has sought help from the Shiv Sena to oppose the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that seeks to give ‘Indian’ status to illegal immigrants of several communities from three neighbouring nations.
An AGP delegation from Guwahati travelled 2500 km westward to reach Mumbai and meet Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. “The Sena is a strong and influential regional power,” AGP president Atul Bora, who is Assam’s agriculture minister, said on Saturday. “We approached its chief for his support to oppose the Citizenship Amendment Bill that is harmful for the country, especially for Assam.”
Advertisement
“We had a great discussion and he agreed to help us,” Bora added about the meeting on Fridayevening in the commercial metropolis.
The development has national-level political ramifications considering that the AGP is an ally of the ruling BJP in Assam, while the Sena—amid a stretch of strained relations with the saffron party—has lately chosen to go with the NDA leader in next year’s general elections.
The AGP has been opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill ever since it was tabled in Parliament in 2016. The Bill seeks citizenship to the minorities (non-Muslims) of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan (who have up till 2014) by amending an existing 1955 Act. The Bill, which goes against the 1985 Assam Accord that slots Bangladeshi immigrants after 1975 as “illegal”, is doing its official rounds, having been sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for review and addition of points after consulting with various groups of individuals and organisations.
Advertisement
The 1985-founded AGP and most of the socio-political organisations in Assam have been opposing the Bill, saying that they would not accept any foreigner who has come after March 25 of 1971 irrespective of religion, caste and creed. This cut-off date to detect the foreigners has been fixed as per a pact signed between the Centre and leaders of the Assam Movement after a six-year-long violent agitation that began in 1979 to flush outsiders out from the Northeastern state.
“We can never accept the Bill which allows people citizenship in the name of religion” Bora said, claiming that Assam is already overburdened with foreigners. “This violates the basic characteristics of our Constitution. Apart from that this bill also violates Assam Accord which is a result of Assam agitation and sacrifice of 855 Assamese youths.”
During a recent rally in Guwahati, Bora said that staying in the BJP-led alliance doesn’t mean that they would do anything which goes against the people. “We don’t care about our ministerial positions. We can quit it in seconds,” he had said. “For us, the interest of the people comes first. If needed we will come out of the alliance.”
When the JPC visited Assam, the Bill found opposition from more than 300 organisations including the influential All Assam Students’ Union and the Krishak Multi Sangram Samiti, which is a powerful peasants’ body.
Saturday’s was the first formal interaction between the AGP and the chief of the 1966-founded Shiv Sena, which has also a history of pushing anti-immigration sentiment: the party had initially for long demanded preferential treatment for Maharashtrians over migrants to Mumbai (then Bombay). Present at the meeting with Uddhav were Assam irrigation minister and party working president Keshab Mahanta, food and civil supplies minister Phani Bhusan Choudhury and AGP general secretaries Ramendra Narayan Kalita, Kamala Kalita and Birendra Prasad Baisya.
Advertisement
Uddhav, 57, who is son of Sena founder Bal Thackeray (1926-2012), also said the parties have also agreed to work together for the interest of strengthening the regional politics. “You have come here with the genuine problems of Assam and its people. We have always been working for the indigenous populations,” he reportedly told the AGP leaders. “We all will be together and work for it.”
