GUWAHATI, Jan 24 - The Communist Party of India (Marxist), while severely condemning the recent statement of AIUDF president Badruddin Ajmal at a public meeting where he called upon the Muslim people of the State to �unite� to �resist� the BJP which he said had unified Hindu votes, said that such communal and irresponsible utterances would facilitate polarization of voters on communal lines besides jeopardizing the State�s age-old communal harmony.
In a statement, the CPI(M) said that both the BJP and the AIUDF were indulging in communal politics ahead of the State Assembly polls and this posed a serious challenge before all the right-thinking people for upholding the State�s secular ethos.
�A majority of the State�s Hindu people are against communal politics and this explains why the BJP�s Hindutva campaign is finding few takers. Similarly, the State�s Muslim populace is also against the brand of communal politics promoted by the AIUDF, and has taken a stand against Muslim fundamentalism,� it said, adding that the AIUDF chief�s utterances would also help the BJP directly.
The CPI(M) further said that the AIUDF was uneasy because of its erosion of support among the Muslims and hence indulging in communal politics. It also appealed to the people not to fall prey to the AIUDF�s sinister designs and reject communal politics of any hue.
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has also lambasted the AIUDF president for his statement, terming it as against the country�s secular ethos.
In a statement, APCC president Anjan Dutta said that Ajmal�s statement would foment communal passion in the State which boasted of an enduring communal harmony over the centuries. �Ajmal�s statement amounts to inciting voters to vote on religious lines and is a threat to communal harmony. But we believe that the people of Assam do not act at the dikat of leaders like Ajmal. Parties that indulge in communal politics have a history of rejection by the electorate. It was the BJP�s arrogant Hindutva campaign in the recent Assembly polls in Bihar and Delhi that led to its downfall,� it said.
