AIUDF chief writes to Rajnath Singh over Army Chief remark

All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal on Tuesday wrote a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the controversial comments made by Army Chief Bipin Rawat. The memorandum was signed by Ajmal, apart from Assam MLA Hafiz Bashir Ahmed, MLA Mamul Imdadul Haque Chowdhury, MLA Nijanur Rehman, AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam and advocate Abdus Saboor Tapader.

In the memorandum, the leaders said the Army Chief's comments had caused them "great shock and surprise".

"As regards, the growth of AIUDF, as mentioned by our Army Chief, we beg to place on record that out of 126 seats in the Assam Legislative Assembly, AIUDF won 10 seats in the 2006 elections, 18 seats in 2011 and 13 seats in 2016. BJP has risen from 5 seats to 61 seats in 2016. As such, the comparison as made by the Army Chief is most unfortunate," the memorandum stated.

The letter also stated that since the AIUDF was the first party to demand the sealing of the Indo-Bangladesh border to "stop any possibility of illegal infiltration", there is "no logic and base" in blaming the AIUDF for illegal infiltration as they were never voted to power.

At a function in Assam last week, Rawat had said that the AIUDF had grown at a faster rate than the BJP in Assam. "When we talk of Jan Sangh, with two members of Parliament and where they have reached, the AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam. Finally, what will be the state of Assam, we have to take a call," Rawat was quoted as saying. His comment drew widespread condemnation, with critics noting that the office of the Army Chief should not be politicized.