AGP should quit alliance if it has skin: Ajmal

Guwahati, November 26, 2018:

Opposition Congress and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) on Monday slammed the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) for “shamelessly” hanging on to power despite being insulted publicly by its alliance partner BJP.

“If they (AGP) have skin, they should pull out of the alliance and the state government. How much more do they want to be insulted?” AIUDF chief and Dhubri MP, Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, asked.

He said the AGP was hungry for power. As they have tasted power, they have not been able to come out of the alliance, Ajmal said.

His comments were in the context of what Assam’s Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said about the AGP over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 on Sunday. Sarma had openly dared the AGP to quit the alliance saying the BJP was ready to face the consequences.

The Congress too was critical of the AGP for holding onto power despite being insulted by the BJP.

“There cannot be anything more insulting (than what Sarma had said). If they (AGP) have self-respect, they should not waste a minute in pulling out their support to the government,” Congress leader and former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said.

“I am not against regionalism. I want the existence of the AGP. We can together defeat the BJP,” Gogoi added.