Dibrugarh, Oct. 31: The AGP's youth wing, Asom Yuva Parishad, today accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy to "root out regionalism" from Assam.

AYP president Sunil Rajkonwar said the BJP, which had no connection with the Assamese society and culture, was executing a "dangerous" game plan to make regionalism completely irrelevant in the state. The BJP had been trying to "purchase" the AGP leaders through such game plan, he alleged.

Coming down heavily on senior AGP leader and three-time Sootea MLA Padma Hazarika, who formally joined the BJP yesterday, Rajkonwar said it was unfortunate that veterans like Hazarika had dumped the ideal of regionalism for the sake of "personal interests".

"At a time when the BJP had been making U-turns on its promises on all issues of Assam, it was surprising to see Hazarika joining the saffron party," he added.

Rajkonwar also criticised other AGP leaders who had joined the BJP earlier and alleged that such leaders were "wearing masks of regionalism".

Senior AGP leaders, including its former president Chandra Mohan Patowary, former ministers Atul Bora, Jagadish Bhuyan and Hiten Goswami, who were ministers for two terms after the six-year anti-foreigner movement in 1985, earlier joined the BJP.

Accusing the ruling Congress in the state of also trying to throttle regionalism in Assam, Rajkonwar also criticised the All Assam Students' Union's (AASU) leadership's attitude towards the BJP government at the Centre.

He alleged that the AASU, on the one hand, had been agitating against the BJP government, but also sending student leaders to join the saffron party.

"This is double standards on the part of the AASU. The youths in Assam are disillusioned with the Modi government at the Centre and the Gogoi government in Assam. They want a change now and are seriously considering to join a regional party like the AGP," Rajkonwar said.