India: Assam’s Regional Party Opposes CAA Despite NDA Alliance

The Assam Gana Parishad (AGP), a regional party that is part of the ruling NDA coalition, has stated it still opposes the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and will continue to pursue its case against the law in the Supreme Court, Muslim Mirror reported yesterday.

AGP leader Phani Bhusan Choudhury, the party’s candidate for Barpeta Lok Sabha seat, said “The AGP is clear in its stand… it opposes the CAA. We are, in fact, fighting a case in the Supreme Court against the law.”

The party had earlier broken ties with the BJP over the CAA in 2019 before rejoining the NDA alliance. Choudhury claimed the party has “never diluted its stand” despite being part of the BJP-led coalition.

Opposition parties have accused the AGP of “betraying” public sentiment by remaining in the NDA while opposing the CAA. However, Choudhury is confident of a victory with the support of Muslim voters in the constituency.

There are nearly 1.98 million voters in Barpeta. Of them over 1.2 million are Hindus and around 700,000 are Muslims.