Fuelling the ongoing dissidence within the party, three former AGP leaders — founder president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Girindra Kumar Borua and Gunin Hazarika — on Thursday said they would kickstart a democratic struggle which would bring people of the state closer to them.

Describing the party legislators who are still with the BJP as “Badans” (traitors), the three leaders said they would not work with those who “want any connection with the people still advocating the Citizenship (Amendment) Act”.

The BJP and the AGP leaders are being referred to as Badans after the Ahom general Badan Chandra Borphukan, who was responsible for the Burmese invasion of Assam between 1817 and 1820, which later paved the way for British rule in Assam.

Badan is notorious as Assam’s foremost traitor.

“People of the state want a bold step from the AGP leadership against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB). Unfortunately, some of our party workers’ present pro-BJP stand has pushed our supporters into rethinking their political stand. The AGP is only with the people of the state and our democratic struggle against CAA will be led by the AGP itself,” Mahanta said.

He and the two leaders were accompanied by more than 3,000 party supporters who gathered on Thursday in the district party office here.

“Party leaders from neighbouring Morigaon, Hojai and Koliabor also took part in the rally. All of us came to the decision of continuing a strong democratic struggle without fearing any ‘imposed decision by some Badan’,” said Niranjan Bora, who is the closest to Mahanta.

The party workers later took out a procession through the heart of the central Assam town.

The AGP, which is an offshoot of the Assam Agitation against illegal foreigners, is part of the coalition government led by the BJP in Assam, which had supported the CAB in the Rajya Sabha.

The party has been facing the ire of its members from across the state for supporting the CAA.

Mahanta, the only surviving signatory to the 1985 Assam Accord, has been openly opposing the legislation.

The AGP has moved the Supreme Court against the law but party members are asking why they did not oppose it in Parliament.

According to a party source, a faction of the high-level party leadership has taken a softer stand on CAA and was advocating good relations with the BJP.

“As they (the other faction) are within the government, they do not want to take a bold stand against the BJP. Their soft stand is unfortunate and it is taking the party away from its supporters and loyalists. We feel the interest of the people, struggle for the state and working for the party is above the interest of being a part of the government. Today’s rally is a lesson for all those who are taking the leading role in the party on the one hand and shaking hands with the BJP on the other,” the source said.