PM Modi can sell pakodas too, says Badruddin Ajmal

Guwahati: Bogged down by his political isolation, the All India United Democratic Front leader Badruddin Ajmal on Saturday resorted to a controversial remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hog the headline.

Assam BJP leaders refused to counter the remark saying that Mr Ajmal and his party has lost its credibility and rejected by the people of Assam and just to remain in limelight he was resorting to such remarks. “You all know that Mr Ajmal and his party has been rejected by the people of Assam in recent Panchayat elections. Even the Congress for which the AIUDF claimed to have left five seats has rejected them saying that they don’t have any alliance,” said the BJP spokesperson and treasurer Mr Rajkumar Sharma adding that Mr Ajmal was trying to make his presence felt.

The AIUDF leader who triggered a row for his comments against Mr Modi said that he is also the part of the grand alliance, which wants Mr Modi out of the country and added that once the PM is out of power he can open a tea shop and sell pakodas too.

It is significant that Mr Ajmal was trying hard to forge an alliance with Congress, which rejected the proposal outright, while accusing him of being communal.

Former Assam chief minister and senior Congress leader, Tarun Gogoi said, “There is no possibility of an alliance with AIUDF. Even when I spoke with senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, he never mentioned about AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.”

Mr Ajmal is known for making such controversial remarks as in December 2018 he abused a TV journalist and threatened to break his head after he was questioned about poll alliances for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A perfume trader turn politician Mr Ajmal had formed All India United Democratic Front in 2005 and within a short span of time his party became the main opposition party by 2011 after winning 18 assembly seats and in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the party secured three seats.

Mr Ajmal was desperately trying for an alliance with Congress in order to defend his Dhubri Lok Sabha seat. Mr Ajmal’s desperation was visible when he went on announcing unilaterally that they are not going to field candidate on five Muslim dominated seats in order to help the Congress party. In return Mr Ajmal had asked the Congress party to field a weak candidate from Dhubri to stop the division of Muslim votes.

However, ignoring the AIUDF plea, the Congress party has fielded former legislator Abu Taher Bepari from Dhubri in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls against Mr Ajmal.

Mr Bepari is very popular in the constituency, which is Muslim-dominated, and this will eventually lead to the division of minority votes. Terming Congress’ decision as “betrayal” Mr Ajmal said that it will lead to the division of anti-BJP votes and blamed local Muslim leaders from the Congress party for opposing the alliance between the two parties.

Mr Ajmal’s remark against Prime Minister was also aimed at to counter the ongoing propaganda of Congress party in Dhubri area accusing that Mr Ajmal had a tacit understanding with BJP too.