Student leader-turned-politician Prafulla Kumar Mahanta may have led the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) government for two terms (1985-90 and 1996-2001), but the party today is in no mood to take responsibility for the “secret killings” during his tenure.While Mahanta had to step down from the party leadership amid allegations of bigamy in September 2001, he was expelled from the AGP in 2004. And with the K N Saikia Commission indicting him for the alleged “secret killings”, the party has announced that it was not responsible for Mahanta’s “sins.” “The Saikia Commission has indicted Mahanta in the secret killings. Now it is for him to deal with the charges. The AGP cannot be held responsible as he has been already expelled from the party,” party president Brindaban Goswami said.The Saikia Commission has indicted Mahanta and a few others for extra-constitutional killings in Assam during 1998-2001. MLAs Kushal Duwori and Jiten Gogoi have also been indicted by the Commission. Both Duwori and Gogoi were prominent members of the ULFA before surrendering their arms. Nurul Hussain, a senior AGP legislator, has also been named in one of the cases probed by the Commission.Desperately trying to wriggle out of its tainted image, the AGP has called a crucial central committee meeting on Wednesday to discuss the implications of the Saikia Commission report and the impact it would have on the forthcoming panchayat elections. “The party will not shield anyone. All those indicted by the Commission will have to face appropriate legal action if found guilty,” Goswami said.
