Respect Army General, but he's been misinformed: AIUDF chief

Guwahati (Assam) [India], Feb 22 (ANI): A day after Army Chief General Bipin Rawat hinted that an influx of illegal Muslim migrants into Assam had led to the growth of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the party president on Thursday said that the former had been "misinformed and misguided".

The chief of AIUDF, Badruddin Ajmal, told the media here, "We respect General Rawat a lot but I think he has been misinformed and misguided."

"People say we are a Muslim party which is false. We've always given 20-25 seats to our Hindu Brothers in all elections. Muslims brothers had also laid down their lives for the freedom struggle. We're Indians. Let us live with the dignity of an Indian," he added.

Ajmal further noted that if the demography is changing in Assam, then the government should keep a check on it.

"If Army chief is saying that demographic change is happening in Assam then it is the government's job to check it. We are the only party which said that shoot anyone who infiltrates into our borders," Ajmal said.

"Have asked for time to meet with the President, PM & Home Minister. Our MLA delegation will meet & clarify our position. Whenever I meet HM, he meets me warmly and addresses me as 'Badruddin Bhai'. If we were anti-national would he welcome me," added Ajmal.

Moreover, AIUDF General Secretary Aminul Islam called General Rawat's claims false.

"As the Chief of Indian Army, his main job is to lead the great Indian Army rather than commenting on the political status of different parties," he told media here.

On Wednesday, General Rawat said that Assam's AIUDF "has grown in a faster time-frame than the BJP grew over the years."

"There is a party called AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front). They have grown in a faster time-frame than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) grew over the years. When we talk of Jan Sangh with two MPs and where they have reached, AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam," he said at the North East Region of India- Bridging Gaps and Securing Borders Summit. (ANI)