BJP may feel the heat in Assam over land transfer

GUWAHATI: The land swap deal with Bangladesh has angered many in Assam despite the state standing to gain 714 acres. It has also betrayed the BJP’s bid to earn some brownie points by blaming the ruling Congress in Assam for going ahead with the deal.

Assembly elections are due in Assam in 2016 and the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) is expected to be a key issue.

The Narendra Modi government had decided to exclude ANJAN DUTTA, Assam PCC president

Assam from the purview of LBA. But it reversed the decision following opposition from chief minister Tarun Gogoi and the Congress in Parliament.

The BJP soon went on the offensive, saying it was forced to include Assam as it did not have the numbers to get the deal passed by the Rajya Sabha. Union sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal said it was “unfair” to target BJP as Gogoi had “failed to reflect the sentiments of the people of Assam” by insisting on Assam being a part of the deal.

Gogoi retaliated, accusing the Modi government of keeping him in the dark about its decision to exclude Assam. “It showed the BJP is aiming for narrow political gains,” he said, reminding Modi that he had during (Lok Sabha) election rallies harped on LBA towards checking the illegal migration problem.

The Centre’s U-turn has left the state unit of BJP red-faced too. State leaders had told party chief Amit Shah that BJP could face a backlash in the 2016 assembly polls if Assam was forced to accede “even an inch” of land to Bangladesh.

“Unlike the BJP, we have not maintained double standards on the issue. Our stand on the deal is unchanged in the interest of the country,” Assam PCC president Anjan Dutta said.

Vocal against the deal, the potent All Assam Students’ Union criticised both BJP and Congress for pushing the land swap deal with elections in mind. “We will oppose the deal, come what may,” the union’s president Dipankar Nath said.

The Asom Gana Parishad and All India United Democratic Front also stepped up their opposition.