NEW DELHI, March 23 - In a belated move, the AIUDF today called on President Ramnath Kovind and lodged a protest against the comments made by Army chief General Bipin Rawat on February 21 and also demanded a clarification from the Army chief.
The AIUDF, led by its president Badruddin Ajmal, and accompanied by 10 party MLAs and two Lok Sabha MPs, conveyed to the President that since the birth of the party they have been demanding detection and deportation of all foreigners from Assam without unnecessarily harassing any Indian citizen. This party is still spearheading the cause through various political
activities and participation in the proceedings pending before the Supreme Court.
�The AIUDF has been demanding since inception that all foreigners who have entered Assam after March 25, 1971 should be lawfully detected and expelled. We hope that preparation of a correct NRC shall automatically segregate the illegal foreigners,� Ajmal said.
As for the Army chief�s comments about growth of AIUDF, Ajmal said that his party had grown from 10 seats in 2006 Assembly election to 18 in 2011 and 13 in 2016, while the BJP has risen from 5 to 61 seats in the 2016 elections. �As such the comparison made by the Army chief is most unfortunate,� he said.
A memorandum submitted to the President said that there is no logic and base to blame the AIUDF for illegal infiltration. It has never been in power in the State and it has never supported infiltration of foreigners. In fact, the AIUDF has been the first party to demand sealing of the Indo-Bangladesh border, it stated.
