AGP leaders Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Chandra Mohan Patowary at the Jana Sanjog Yatra function in Sivasagar on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Sept. 7: With the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) starting a Jana Sanjog Yatra to reach out to the masses, the powerful All Assam Students Union (AASU) has reiterated that there would be no let-up in its tirade against former Assam chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.

“The stand of the All Assam Students’ Union on Mahanta remains the same. Mahanta is the ‘hero’ of infamous secret killings in Assam and he betrayed the people by not implementing the clauses of the Assam Accord,” said AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi.

The powerful students’ organisation has been opposing the re-entry of the former chief minister into the regional party since the mid-2008, when the AGP initiated a move to unite both the factions — the AGP (Progressive) led by Mahanta and the parent party.

“We had made it clear at the time that we are going to support the unification of the regional party but sans Mahanta,” said Gogoi.

He added that the stand would remain unchanged in future.

The students’ body had also prepared a 12-point agenda for which they had been opposing the re-entry of Mahanta into the party.

The prominent points among them were Mahanta’s alleged involvement in the secret killing, the failure of his government to stop infiltration from Bangladesh and failure to implement the clauses of the historic Assam Accord.

The development has, however, worried the regional party as continuous opposition by AASU might affect the party in the Assembly elections slated for early next year.

“We have appealed to the students’ body to reconsider their stand. However, they are still on with their tirade against the former chief minister,” said a senior party leader on condition of anonymity.

“The AGP had committed some mistakes in the past. However, the people of Assam had again showed its love for the party. And the reunification of the party was the need of the hour to strengthen the main regional force, which will help end the misrule of the Congress government in the state,” the senior party leader added.