State BJP president Siddhartha Bhattacharya called a meeting at the party headquarters here on Monday to discuss the fallout of Modi's speech at a BJP workers' rally on Sunday.
Modi dropped hints about wanting to go ahead with the land-swap deal to end the protracted problem of infiltration in Assam from Bangladesh. He added that the deal would ensure the state's safety and security.
Assam BJP's embarrassment stems from the fact that it had vociferously opposed the deal, signed during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka visit in 2011, on the grounds that the state had not been consulted before the deal was signed. It had criticized the UPA government on this issue in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
At an election rally in February this year, Modi had said a nation's geography cannot be changed. The Assam BJP had also called a 12-hour statewide strike in December last year to protest against the agreement.
State BJP leaders felt Modi's latest stand on the issue would hurt them in the 2016 assembly election in Assam.
"We can have an effective solution to infiltration once we have a demarcated border by exchanging land enclaves in adverse possession. But, right now, we have a lot of explaining to do," a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
BJP spokesperson Shiladitya Dev, however, denied any embarrassment and said the Prime Minister, by signaling his nod to the deal, has taken an "honest" approach to the infiltration problem.
"It is an agreement between two countries. We cannot just scrap the deal because there has been a change in government. The Prime Minister made it clear that Assam's interest would be prioritized. After all, we cannot keep the issue of infiltration alive forever," Dev said.
All Assam Students' Union (AASU), All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) have criticized Modi's stance on the issue.
Aasu adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya said Modi stance on the land-swap deal exposes BJP's double standard. AIUDF general secretary Aminul Ismal said the party would be doing injustice to the state which would have to part with a lot of its land if the deal comes through.
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