AGP, BJP finalise poll pact on 4 LS seats

Staff reporter GUWAHATI, Jan 3 – The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today arrived at sharing of four of 14 seats for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls and further discussions on electoral understanding will resume only after the Magh Bihu festival. The office bearers of both the parties met in the State Assembly premises to discuss seat sharing for the Parliamentary elections and decided that the existing seats of both the parties would be retained. The AGP has its Members of Parliament in Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh constituencies, while, the BJP has Nagaon and Mangaldoi seats. AGP spokesman Apurba Bhattacharya said that the AGP would field its existing MPs-Sarbananda Sonowal in Dibrugarh and Dr Arun Sarma in Lakhimpur. It is up to the leadership of the BJP to decide the candidates of the party.Bhattacharya said that the discussions would resume only after the Magh Bihu and a final shape to the seat sharing arrangement is likely to be given by the end of this month. He said that both the parties today decided to hold meetings with the district committees to ensure smooth coordination between the grass root level workers of the parties in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls. The parties also decided to hold talks with the Assembly constituency level committees to improve coordination between the workers of the AGP and BJP to ensure that the anti-Congress votes are not divided, he added. source: assam tribune

BJP’s work permit idea for B’deshis come under fire

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Guwahati, Dec 19: Political parties and student groups in Assam rejected demands by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for issuing work permits to Bangladeshi migrants who entered the country after March 25, 1971 and providing refugee status to Hindu infiltrators.

“The idea of issuing work permits to Bangladeshi migrants is simply absurd and we are not going to tolerate any such move. It would amount to encouraging more illegal Bangladeshis to enter India,” said Dilip Patgiri, adviser of the influential Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP).

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh told the Rajya Sabha that Bangladeshi migrants post-1971 should be given work permits and citizenship without the right to vote.

“The BJP’s stand is bizarre and nobody in Asom is going to buy their argument. There would be a mass protest if such a proposal was considered,” said Uddhab Barman, a Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) legislator in Asom.

The Central Government has already fixed March 25, 1971 as the cut-off date for detection and deportation of illegal Bangladeshi migrants as part of the historic Assam Accord signed in 1985 to end a violent six-year-old anti-foreigners uprising in the State.

“Our stand is that the Government should detect and deport all Bangladeshis who entered the state after the cut-off date. No work permits and no citizenship demands could be even tolerated,” said Samujjal Bhattacharya, adviser to the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the group that spearheaded the anti-foreigners movement.

The BJP’s stand on granting refugee status to Hindu Bangladeshi infiltrators has also come under fire.

“The question of Hindu or Muslim Bangladeshi migrants simply does not arise. Be it Muslim or Hindu, illegal foreigners must leave the state,” Patgiri said.

The issue of illegal migrants has for long been a sensitive matter with political parties often blamed for using Bangladeshis during elections to further the vote bank politics.

“The State’s demography is under threat and political parties must desist from trying to make political gains out of the Bangladeshis,” the AASU leader warned.

India shares a 4,095 kilometre border with Bangladesh, with more than half lying along the north-eastern States.

Over 40 per cent of the border remains unfenced with concrete pillars separating the two countries. (IANS)

You represent India not China, BJP reminds CPI

June 15, 2008 20:11 IST
Bhartiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Sunday expressed concern over Communist Party of India general secretary A B Bardhan's remarks that the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal would make India a US outpost against China.

In a statement issued to the media on Sunday, Rajnath said: 'The CPI in its over-enthusiasm towards China seems to have forgotten that it is not a Chinese but an Indian political party. Ever since the idea of the nuclear deal has been mooted, the Left Front parties have consistently indicated that they are more concerned about protecting China's interests than our own national and strategic interests.''The BJP is the only political party that has opposed the proposed nuclear deal on pure nationalistic grounds. Playing the role of a constructive opposition party, the BJP has vociferously protested against certain provisions of the proposed deal that could jeopardize our long term strategic sovereignty and interests,' he said. 'Instead of properly addressing the nationalist concerns being raised by the BJP, the UPA government and its allies are consistently engaging in regular bouts of verbal boxing through the media and in the public domain without recognising the fact that such statements and public posturing could actually jeopardize our long term and strategic relations with both the United States and China. 'The Left parties are trying to politicize the issue in an attempt to regain their losing political relevance and mass support. However, in this process the Left parties are in reality thoroughly exposing their true colours and their cross border affiliations before the public,' he added.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/15ndeal.htm

No compromise on Silchar seat: Rajnath Singh (BJP president)

No compromise on Silchar seat: Rajnath Singh (BJP president)

AGP-BJP alliance depends on key seats NEW DELHI, June 14: AGP and BJP have taken a step forward towards an understanding in the coming Lok Sabha election. AGP Legislature Party (AGPLP) leader Chandra Mohan Patowary and Gunin Hazarika had an informal meeting with BJP’s national president Rajnath Singh at the latter’s residence in New Delhi today. BJP leader Sushma Swaraj was also present at the meeting.After an hour-long meeting that began at 10.30 am, the two AGP leaders told newsmen waiting outside that the meeting was cordial. Patowary said: “We came to New Delhi following an invitation from the national president of the BJP. The alliance between the two parties has not been finalized as yet. We need to meet more to sort out the issues.”The BJP president, on the other hand, said: “We have initiated preliminary talks for poll tie-up. We need to sit more. We want a pre-poll understanding with the AGP so as to oust the Congress.”According BJP sources, the two AGP leaders set somepreconditions. “However, Rajnath Singh has made them clear in no uncertain term that the BJP won’t compromise on Silchar, Karimganj, Guwahati, Nagaon and Tezpur Lok Sabha seats. The other seats in the State are, however, open for negotiation,” the sources said......more Source: sentinel assam http://borakvalley.blogspot.com/

AGP leaders talk alliance with BJP

AGP leaders talk alliance with BJP

NISHIT DHOLABHAI

New Delhi, June 14: AGP legislators Chandramohan Patowary and Padma Hazarika met BJP president Rajnath Singh here today, ostensibly to work out the modalities of an alliance between the parties.

“It was a courtesy call,” said Patowary after over an hour of talks with Singh.
The two legislators met other senior BJP leaders later in the evening. BJP sources were tight-lipped about what transpired in the meeting, but did not rule out an alliance with the regional party.

AGP is part of the United National Progressive Alliance, comprising the Samajwadi Party and other smaller parties who, only a couple of months ago, wanted a third front to counter the BJP and the Congress.

For the BJP, it is a step ahead in breaking the UNPA and adding strength in Assam where it has not been able to make a dent into the Congress strongholds.

At present, the AGP and BJP have only two MPs each in the Lok Sabha from Assam.
The meeting comes at a time when talks are on for AGP’s merger with the party’s splinter groups, including the AGP (Pragatisheel).

AGP(P) leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has been camping in the same building as the two AGP leaders, but was absent from the meeting with the BJP leader.

Sources said Mahanta had met BJP leaders a month ago for the same reason. “We are yet to finalise,” Mahanta said. Source: telegraphindia