Hojai:
Alleging that Congress “destroyed minorities socially, economically and politically,” Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, in an exclusive interview with NDTV, launched a sharp attack on the party on Monday as he filed his nomination papers, a move being seen as his attempt to return to the electoral process after his defeat in Dhubri.
He filed his nomination papers from the newly formed Binnakandi Assembly constituency seat amid a huge gathering. This will be Ajmal’s return to state-level electoral politics after two decades.
The AIUDF leader accused the Congress of stripping Muslims of citizenship and dignity, and held the party responsible for exclusions from the NRC and the creation of detention centres.
“They removed our names from the NRC and labelled us foreigners,” he said, adding that Congress made a “fool out of Muslims”.
He also blamed the Congress for long-standing issues of land erosion and displacement in Assam, and alleged that its ministers had formed a nexus to extort people.
Calling education a deliberate casualty, he said minorities were deprived of basic opportunities and misled for decades by the Congress party. “If BJP defeated us communally, Congress destroyed us socially and economically,” he said, adding that the community continues to suffer due to a lack of literacy and awareness.
Referring to his 2024 loss in Dhubri, Ajmal said the outcome reflected “lack of education” among voters, who were influenced by claims of a Mahagathbandhan and promises of leadership positions by Congress leaders. “I’m not upset about losing, but about the literacy gap,” he said.
“Congress has left Muslims landless and insulted the community,” the AIUDF chief said.
Congress’s Rakibul Hussain beat Ajmal by a record margin of 10,12,476 votes in the 2024 poll battle.
Highlighting his tenure as MP, he listed projects such as the Phulbari bridge, Rupsi airport, railway connectivity, and educational institutions, saying these remain his contribution to the people of Dhubri. He also questioned Congress’s governance record, citing poor connectivity, lack of roads, and prolonged electricity shortages.
He further alleged that Congress used its full political machinery to defeat him because he “spoke beyond minority issues” and posed a larger challenge within the political space. “They wanted to finish me so I wouldn’t rise further,” he said.
Taking aim at recent political alignments, Ajmal said Congress has lost the trust of Assamese people and cannot rely solely on its current leadership. He said that people who left the Congress party never had love for the party in their blood, in a veiled dig at former top Congress leaders Pradyut Bordoloi and Bhupen Borah.
He maintained that key issues in Assam – education, erosion, NRC and the “Bangladeshi issue” – remain unresolved and said his party would prioritise these if voted to power.
Source link
[ad_3]
