Assam TMC-chief, two MLAs resign over Mamata's opposition to NRC
Assam Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Dwipen Pathak and two other party leaders resigned yesterday in protest against party supremo Mamata Banerjee's opposition to the final draft of the National Register of Citizens. Pathak's resignation came within hours of a TMC delegation arriving at the Silchar airport (Assam) in the Bengali-dominated Barak valley at Banerjee's instructions and being stopped from exiting it by the police.
BJP, other parties say TMC has no existence in Assam
Diganta Saikia, a TMC leader from Golaghat and who was among the three to resign, even threatened to file a case against Banerjee for taking an anti-Assamese stand. The BJP and other parties in Assam said the TMC had no existence in the Barak valley.
Pathak said he had advised Banerjee not to send delegation
Pathak said that he had apprised the TMC leaders of the situation in Barak Valley after the publication of the final draft of the NRC and had urged Banerjee not to send the delegation. "The party did not pay heed to my suggestion. Therefore, it is not possible for me to remain in a party that doesn't value the Assamese sentiment," Pathak said.
Other party leaders support Pathak, slam TMC for 'anti-Assamese' stand
Pathak, a former MLA from Hajo, was a TMC MLA from 2011 to 2016. TMC leader Pradip Pachani of Sibasagar and Saikia resigned, saying they could not remain members of a party that wanted to compromise the identity of the indigenous Assamese people.
Banerjee's effigies burnt by student organizations
The TMC delegation had to return from the Kumbhirgram airport as the district administration did not allow the leaders to enter the town, where prohibitory orders were in force since Wednesday. Banerjee's effigies were burnt in Charaideo and Sonitpur districts in the Brahmaputra Valley by students' organizations, who warned the TMC supremo and her party not to "meddle in Assam".
Congress MLA speaks against turning away of delegates
Congress MLA from the Karimganj (North) constituency in Barak valley, Kamalakhya De Purkayastha, spoke against the turning away of the delegates. "The TMC has many wrong notions about the NRC and they should have been allowed to enter, so that their misconceptions about the draft were cleared," he said. "We do not want to disturb the prevailing peace in Barak Valley," he said.
All is calm in Barak Valley, say other political parties
Most political parties in the Barak valley too maintained that there was no sense of panic among the people and that Banerjee was trying to use the issue to gain a political entry to Assam. State Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, who represents the Dholai constituency in the valley, said Banerjee was trying to mislead and create confusion here, but the people have ignored it.
