Better to be Opposition than to take AIUDF aid: Amit Shah
BJP president Amit Shah and Assam unit chief Sarbananda Sonowal at a rally in Palasbari constituency in Kamrup, Assam. (Photo: PTI)
BJP president Amit Shah and Assam unit chief Sarbananda Sonowal at a rally in Palasbari constituency in Kamrup, Assam. (Photo: PTI)
BJP president Amit Shah said here on Tuesday that the BJP would prefer to sit in Opposition than to form government with the support of Maulana Badruddin Ajmal in Assam.
Addressing an election rally at Nalbari, Mr Shah said, “We are prepared to sit in Opposition for even 50 years than seek support from the two parties who have betrayed the people of Assam by not solving the problem of infiltration from Bangladesh and indulging in rampant corruption.”
Assam cannot progress unless infiltration stops and both the Congress and AIUDF are not interested in solving this problem as they indulge in vote-bank politics, he said, adding, “This policy of vote-bank politics has endangered Assam’s security and deprived employment opportunities to the youth of Assam.”
The BJP president also accused the Congress and AIUDF of speaking against each other in the day and making secret deals at night. Pointing out that any complacency may allow AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal to capture power with the Congress, Mr Shah said, “Assam is hankering for freedom from the corrupt regime of the Congress party.” Mr Shah added, “Development funds coming from New Delhi have gone into the pockets of Congress leaders. If you see the houses of Congress leaders, you will find that thatched houses have been converted into palatial buildings in the past 15 years.”
The BJP president said both chief minister Tarun Gogoi and AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal are two sides of the same coin and that the BJP is against both parties who have done nothing to develop Assam and have neglected the poor and downtrodden.
Assam BJP president Sarbananda Sonowal, the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance, who accompanied Mr Shah on campaign for the second phase of polling on April 11, said, “We commit to you a transparent and clean administration that will bring prosperity and development to the state.”