Eight Assam parties join hands to fight Congress and BJP

: Eight political parties of Assam on Monday resolved to unite against the Congress and the BJP and formulate a common programme.

The eight parties — Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), CPI (M), CPI, CPI(ML), Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party, Gansaksti and Hills State Democratic Party — met at the AGP office here and decided to take up a joint programme of agitation against the “anti-people and anti-Assam policies of the Congress and the BJP.”

In a statement, AGP General Secretary Ramendra Narayan Kalita, who was also present at the meeting, stated that the first agitation programme of this unified political force would be a sit-in-dharna in front of Assam Assembly on March 11.

In the meeting, they decided to organise a convention to build up public opinion against the “anti-Assam and anti-people Union budget of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.”

“Representatives of political parties present in the meeting were unanimous in their view that parallel to misrule and corruption of the Congress government in Assam, the BJP-led government at the Centre has betrayed the people of Assam by taking a series of anti-Assam decisions. The General budget and railway budget showed that the BJP moved a step ahead towards weakening Assam economically,” added Mr Kalita in his statement.

He also stated that the AGP would stage a “Save Assam-March to Dispur” programme on Tuesday to register protest against “misrule and corruption of the Congress government in Assam and betrayal by the BJP-led government at the Centre”

Meanwhile, former Assam BJP leader Prodyut Bora floated a new political party under the name and style Liberal Democratic Party and made public the ideology of his party for inputs and suggestion from the public. “The LDP would be liberal in terms of both social and economic agenda,” stated the new party. Mr Bora told The Hindu that the constitution of the new party would be unveiled by Friday or Saturday

Mr Bora resigned from the National Executive Committee and the primary membership of the party on February 18 accusing the Narendra Modi government of going back on its poll promise made to the people of Assam and in protest against the ‘individualised’ style of decision-making in the party.

The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader Akhil Gogoi has also announced that his organisation would announce launching of a new political force to provide an alternative to both the Congress and the BJP in Assam after a threadbare discussion in the three-day convention of the KMSS beginning on March 18. Noted social activist and Gandhian Anna Hazare is scheduled to take part in the convention on the concluding day’s session on March 20, Mr Gogoi said.