Guwahati: AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal on Thursday labelled Congress as a ‘Mulslim League’ party for securing victories in Muslim-majority constituencies in the assembly election by spreading fear of Himanta among voters. His own party managed to win only two seats.“Congress was built equally by both Hindus and Muslims, which was this party’s secular character. Now, if theirs is a secular party, Congress should have got both Hindu and Muslim MLAs. Congress has become Muslim League today,” Ajmal said. He questioned why Congress failed to win even a few seats where ethnic Assamese communities are in the majority.Of the 19 seats won by Congress in Assam, Ajmal said all were Muslim-majority constituencies and only one MLA, Jay Prakash Das, is Hindu. “When 18 of the 19 MLAs of Congress are Muslims, it cannot be a secular party,” Ajmal said.He claimed that within two years, there would be a major internal conflict in Congress over what he described as the party’s transformation into “Muslim League.”Referring to the political climate of the past decade, especially the last five years, Ajmal said Muslims faced repeated targeting under Himanta Biswa Sarma in the name of Miya politics.He cited Sarma’s pre-election remarks about having broken the backbone of Muslims and his pledge to continue eviction drives if re-elected.Ajmal alleged Congress leveraged these fears by telling Muslim voters that unless Gaurav Gogoi became chief minister, there would be no change in government and no relief for Muslims.“For shelter, Muslims voted for Congress. But today Muslims are crying in Assam after voting for Congress,” Ajmal said.AIUDF was not part of the six-party opposition alliance headed by Congress. Ajmal said Congress had no realistic chance of returning to power in Assam in the next 10 to 20 years and said Gogoi should resign as state PCC president after what he called a massive defeat.Despite AIUDF’s poor performance, Ajmal said his party would act as the genuine opposition, even as he acknowledged that much of its support shifted to Congress. The 70-year-old leader promised a comeback.“Himanta will see me coming to assembly as a roaring tiger. Our role will be that of a voice for Hindu, Muslim, Karbi, Dimasa, tea tribes and all communities of Assam,” he said. Ajmal also alleged Congress failed to effectively raise issues including eviction, land pattas for Muslims, NRC, D-voter cases, river erosion and detention camps, and said many of Assam’s current problems originated during Congress rule.
