Gogoi accuses AGP of playing 'infiltration politics'

Guwahati, Aug 22 (UNI) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today accused the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) of playing ''infiltration politics'' for power.

Addressing a press conference, he said the former All Assam Students Union (AASU) leadership, which eventually became the AGP, had rejected an offer of 1967, being the cut-off year for Bangladeshi deportation, during the crucial negotiation with the Centre in the eighties.

Five years later, while signing the Assam Accord the then Assam agitation leadership had settled for 1971 cut -off year.

'' I maintain that the AASU leadership did not accept an earlier cut-off date offered by the then Home Minister Zail Singh because they were too young to fight election and once they attained that age they settled for a later date,'' he said.

He maintained that in all the terms when Congress ruled the state after Assam Accord there were more work and effort for actual Bangladeshi deportation. ''When the AGP were in power they washed off the hands from the Bangladeshi problem,'' he said.

Displaying old newspaper of 1980s, he sought to establish that AASU leadership was more interested in power than seriously resolving the infiltration problem. The AASU leadership later formed the AGP in 1985 after the Assam Accord and came to power twice since then.

Mr Gogoi targeted Mr Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, then the AASU president and later Chief Minister of Assam as well as the Chief Signatory of Assam Accord.

''I am amazed how he and his cronies could hoodwink people with all these words when actually they have never done anything to deport or detect Bangladeshis,'' he said.

He asserted that it was his government which had started updating the National registrar of Citizen after 57 years. ''There are complex problems about the modalities but that is being ironed out. Luckily, the Prime Minister has also given consent. But the AGP did nothing for that,'' he said.

He reiterated that Congress government would be taking every step to stop infiltration as well as legally deport all Bangladeshi but would also ensure that no Indian citizen were harassed in the name of deportation.

UNI MT KK AB 1719