All AGP factions come under one flag

From our Staff Reporter GOLAGHAT, Oct 14: Despite the anti-Prafulla Kumar Mahanta stand taken by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), the AGP and its splinter groups — the AGP-P, TGP, PLP and the Asom Jatiya Aikya Mancha (AJAM) — merged on the 23rd foundation day of the regional party today at Golaghat where the party had been floated on this day in 1985. All the AGP leaders, including those who staged their homecoming today, read out the Golaghat resolution and pledged not to repeat their past mistakes.The AASU, on the other hand, took out a procession in the town, burnt the effigies of former Chief Minister and founder AGP president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and darkened the faces of clay idols of Mahanta with ashes. About 40 clay idols of Mahanta were made by the students’ body for the purpose.At 1.10 pm when the open session was under way, AGP president Chandra Mohan Patowary made the formal announcement of the unification of the AGP, AGP-P, TGP, PLP and the AJAM. After the announcement, Mahanta and his AGP-P colleagues entered the venue of the function shouting the slogan — AGP zindabad — handed over the AGP-P flag to Chandra Mohan Patowary and stood under the AGP flag marking the formal merger of the two parties amid a standing ovation and clapping by thousands of people present at the venue. Mahanta was followed by TGP leaders Atul Bora, Pulakesh Baruah, PLP’s Pabindra Deka, Pranabjit Chaliha of AJAM, Biraj Kumar Sarma, Rekharani Das Boro and others. All the founder AGP leaders stood under the AGP flag.However, former AGP president Brindabon Goswami and Prabin Boro were conspicuous by their absence at the function.With founder AGP leaders like Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Biraj Kumar Sarma, Atul Bora, Pulakesh Baruah, Rekharani Das Boro, Gunin Hazarika, Utpal Dutta and others coming under the AGP flag, the sweet memory of October 14, 1985 was revived and the one-time student and youth friends became nostalgic.In his speech, Chandra Mohan Patowary said: “We will work together rising above individuals, and our Sankalpa Yatra has begun from today to put an end to the maladministration of the Congress from the State. We pledge today that we won’t repeat our past mistakes. Our aim is to make Asom free from foreigners and give a protective shield to the greater Asomiya society on all fronts, and in this Herculean task we seek cooperation from all the national organizations of Asom.” A nostalgic Mahanta said in his speech: “We will work together to strengthen regionalism. Today’s unification will bring a political change in the State. We will root out the Congress from the State.” “President’s Rule was imposed by the Congress Government at the Centre dismissing the first AGP Government in the State for a minor reason. Now even the Union Minister of State for Home said that the administration totally collapsed in Asom, mass graves were found in Kakopather and Nalbari, and the Pakistani flag was hoisted at Mohanpur, but the Congress Government at the Centre has refrained from imposing President’s Rule,” the former Chief Minister said, and added: “Neither my Government nor any AGP leader was involved in any secret killing. It was only an allegation raised by the Congress.”Atul Bora said: “Now on, we will work together, and if there is any change of government at the Centre, we will raise the demand for President’s Rule in the State.”Biraj Kumar Sarma and Pabindra Deka also expressed their satisfaction after coming under the AGP flag.According to sources, Jayashree Goswami Mahanta did accompany Prafulla Kumar Mahanta till Dergaon yesterday, but due to a commotion among some AGP workers about her presence, she had to stay back at Dergaon. She went to Nagaon from Dergaon today. source: sentinel assam