Dibrugarh, Aug. 23: Unfazed by the fire of dissidence blazing around him, AGP president Brindaban Goswami today ruled out possibility of a split in the party but warned of harsh action against anyone who tried to destabilise the “symbol of regionalism” in the region.

Goswami’s strong stand came a day after the AGP office in Sivasagar was vandalised by supporters of senior leader Pradip Hazarika who was stripped of all party posts for “going against the party line on the IMDT issue”.

Sources said the AGP chief subtly told party workers in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia today that “indiscipline would not be tolerated”. Allaying fears of his workers, the AGP president said the party was “still very much one and there is no dissidence”.

Another senior party leader Hiten Goswami also denied any “crisis” and claimed that “all the talk of dissidence was creation of the media”. He, however, skirted a question on whether the ransacking of the Sivasagar office was also “a media creation”.

Despite Goswami’s confident posture, sources in the party admitted that the AGP was “facing real prospects of a split” with the anti-Goswami faction rallying round a section of senior sidelined leaders — apparently hinting at former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.

That Goswami was also feeling the “heat” was evident from the fact that he is rushing back to Guwahati tomorrow to quell what appeared to be a full-blown “mutiny”. The IMDT issue suddenly became a thorn in the AGP’s flesh after the AASU accused Hazarika of trying to scuttle a public interest litigation, demanding scrapping of the IMDT Act, being heard by the Supreme Court. The AASU said Hazarika approached the lawyer of sitting MLA Sarbananda Sonowal — who moved the PIL — and asked him to withdraw the case.