Nothing wrong in tying up with AIUDF, party not communal, says Assam Congress chief ahead of Assembly polls – Politics News , NewsGater

Sivasagar: Criticizing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its criticism of his party’s alliance with the AIUDF for the upcoming state elections, the head of Assam’s unit of Congress, Ripun Bora, said on Monday that there was nothing wrong with aligning himself with the group led by Badruddin Ajmal as it was. not communal and cannot be considered an “untouchable”.

Bora also said that “winds of change” were blowing in Assam and expressed confidence that Congress, along with its allies, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the CPI, the CPM, the CPI (ML) and Anchalik Win. Morcha: Will win more than 101 of the 126 Assembly seats at the polls probably in March-April.

In an interview with PTIBora said it was not a convention of Congress to announce a chief ministerial face in advance and that the party will decide who will be prime minister only after the elections.

The head of the Assam Pradesh Congressional Committee (APCC) lashed out at the BJP for attacking Congress for its alliance with the AIUDF, saying that while the BJP had aligned itself with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir in the past, it was questioning the congressional tie. with the party led by Ajmal.

“The people of the BJP aligned themselves with the PDP that does not accept the Indian flag. Aligning with that party is not an offense, but for Congress to align itself with the AIUDF in Assam is an offense,” he asked.

In Assam, the BJP is sharing power with the AIUDF in at least three districts of Zila Parishad, Bora argued.

“What is the harm in aligning with AIUDF? They are not unconstitutional, they are not untouchable. How can you say they are communal? If you respect your own religion, you are not communal. The BJP is communal,” he alleged.

The BJP focuses on communalization, but for the people of Assam the main problem is saving the state due to the way the BJP and RSS have attacked Assam’s identity, culture and heritage through the Citizenship Law (Amendment) (CAA). ), Bora said.

“The CAA is going to destroy the entire social fabric of Assam, divide the people and create communal unrest, as well as conflicts between different castes, communities and religions in the state,” he claimed, adding that the CAA will not serve any of them. purpose for people.

“The CAA will bring a threat to the language and the existence of the culture of the people of Assam. Therefore, although the BJP has declared that after the elections they will implement the CAA, we in Congress have said that after the election if our Congress party comes to power, we will not allow the implementation of the CAA in Assam, “said Bora.

At a rally in Sivasagar on Sunday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also said that his party will protect all principles of the Assam Accord and will not allow the CAA to be implemented if power is voted in the next Assembly elections. .

Bora also criticized the BJP over the issue of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC), saying that it has been a long-standing demand from Assam, but that the BJP has stopped the NRC after final publication.

The congressional position is clear that the NRC, the final list that has come out with 3.11 million people from Assam, should be accepted, Bora said.

“Second, side by side, we have said 19 lakh of names that are not there, all are not foreigners, most of them are Indians, we have demanded that those people according to the NRC rule should have the opportunity to appeal to the court so that they can prove their worth as Indian citizens, “he said.

When asked when the seat-sharing agreement between Congress and its allies will be finalized, Bora said he cannot share the details of the internal deliberations, but that it will be sealed soon. There are some small disputes and differences to be resolved, he said.

Bora also said the alliance will come out “very soon” with an appeal to people to come up with the issues for which the six parties have come to a common platform, adding that the CPM has some reservations about calling it a “common minimum program.” .

When asked if a chief ministerial face will be announced, Bora said the convention of Congress is not to project a CM. “It is a party of internal democracy. Then the party will decide who will be the prime minister only after the elections, that is the democratic way. It is not only the case in Assam, but in other states also the party has followed this”, He said. he claimed.

On the chances of Congress in the next Assembly elections, he said that “the winds of change are blowing” in the state and there is a “tremendous undercurrent” in favor of Congress and its allies.

“People are afraid to openly come out (against the BJP) because they are being threatened and blackmailed that if you go to Congress you will not get benefits,” he alleged.

In accusing the BJP of making false promises, Bora said that the people of Assam are feeling a “sense of betrayal”, realizing that the ruling party has only been making “false promises.”

The six-party alliance will not only get a clear majority, but is confident of winning more than 101 seats, Bora said.

The APCC has announced that it will contest the next state elections in alliance with five parties AIUDF, CPI, CPI (M), CPI (ML) and Anchalik Gana Morcha to remove the ruling BJP from power.