Congress alliance partner in Assam AIUDF seems to be working hard to prove the claim of BJP true that if they come to power, they will form a government of Miyas, a term used to denote Bangladeshi immigrant Muslims. Such a hint was given by Abdur Rahim Ajmal, the son of AIDUF chief Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, when he claimed that they will form a government by men with beard, skullcap and lungi.
Addressing an election campaign rally in Bhabanipur in Assam for party candidate Phanidhar Talukdar, Abdur Rahim Ajmal said in Bengali, ‘this time it will be a government of poor people, it will be a government of men with beard, cap and lungi’.
In another rally, he claimed that after they form govt, people will have to respect burkha, beard and skullcap. Campaigning for AIUDF candidate Ashraful Hussain in Chenga constituency, the junior Ajmal said, ‘Dupatta of our mothers and sisters will have to be respected, the Burkha of our mothers and sisters will have to be respected, our beard and cap will have to be respected’.
Abdur Rahim Ajmal is an AIUDF MLA from Jamunamukh constituency. However, this time Badruddin Ajmal’s brother Sirajuddin Ajmal has been nominated from the seat by AIUDF.
The beard, skullcap, lungi, burkha etc are commonly associated with Bangladeshi immigrant Muslims in the state. People from the Assamese Muslim community, descendants of people who were ethnic Assamese but converted to Islam centuries ago, are generally not distinguished by such appearance and attire. By repeatedly referring to beard, skullcap, lungi, burkha etc, Abdur Rahim Ajmal made it clear that should the Congress led alliance comes to power after the elections, they will form a government comprising of Miya Muslims, and the government will work for the benefit of the immigrants from Bangladesh.
This is the second controversy the AIUDF leaders have created in this week. Two days ago, party chief Badruddin Ajmal hat triggered a massive controversy by angrily throwing a Gamosa at a party worker. The act was widely condemned in the state, as it was seen as an insult of a cultural symbol of the state. PM Modi had also commented that everyone who loves Assam is hurt and angry after seeing the visuals of Ajmal insulting the Gamosa.