Congress President slams BJP for calling, Badruddin Ajma, an ally anti-Hindu

On Monday, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora slammed Bhartiya Janta Party for calling Congress ally, Badruddin Ajma, the leader of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), an anti-Hindu and communal. Bora came to Ajmal’s defence and said that neither was he anti-Hindu or communal, and also mocked the nationalist Hindu party for forming ties with his party in three district to run council election in Assam – Darrang, Karimganj and Nagaon.

Bora said, “Ajmal is not anti-Hindu, but talks only about the welfare of Muslims. Talking about the welfare of Muslims or the people of his own religion is not a crime unless he hates the people of other religions. Ajmal has never been anti-Hindu.” He added, “The BJP has no moral right to lecture us on politics.”

He said, “Not a single section of the society is happy with the BJP government in Assam. We will form the next government in Assam. The BJP may try to polarise the electioneering, but it will not be successful,”

The APCC president, who has been running for the position of Chief Minister in the upcoming polls said that it was BJP which was “more communal” as compared to any other party as it had a history of tying up with PDF to form a government in Jammu and Kashmir. He claimed that PDF has been known for supporting “anti-India forces”, which “does not accept the Indian constitution and Indian flag”. Bora highlighted, “The PDP had declared Afzal Guru, who was hanged for the Parliament attack, a martyr.”

Congress formed alliance with AIUDF, to combat BJP in the upcoming Assam Assembly polls, scheduled for April 2021. Bora played a pivotal role in pulling the alliance together with Ajmal’s party as latter has been a three-time Lok Sabha MP and has earned a reputation for himself over the years with his work. Besides, Congress state president was also keen on forming the alliance given AIUDF’s large voter base which comprised of about 35 per cent of Assam’s Muslim population.

Earlier this month, Bora claimed that in the current assembly elections, the ruling  BJP would be “swept away by the tsunami caused by the Congress and its allies”. Bora’s confidence in his party’s victory could be traced from fact that in order to oust BJP from the state, Congress formed alliance with AIUDF, three Left parties and a regional party. The coalition is known as the Anchalik Gana Morcha (AGM). The alliance adopted a more secular approach to combat BJP’s Hindutva strategy. 

Bora said, “The issue is not who has joined hands with whom. The issue is to oust the BJP and defeat its communal politics. The issue is price rise, the issue is the deprivation of Assam, the issue is the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and safeguarding the indigenous people of the state.”

The Congress Assam president also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence over the matter of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), despite visiting the state twice last month. He said, “The CAA is a major issue for Assam. But why is the prime minister silent on it?”