Badruddin Ajmal questions Army Chief’s comments on AIUDF, says he was indulging in politics

New Delhi: In response to the Army Chief Bipin Rawat’s comment on All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the President of the party Badruddin Ajmal, questioned if the army chief was indulging in politics. If it is so, then it is against the constitutional mandate given to him.

General Rawat speaking at the conference on North East, said that AIUDF had risen faster than BJP on the back of Muslim support. The army chief also referred to Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF rise in relation to Muslim population rise in several districts of Assam. He also said that AIUDF has grown faster than BJP in 1980s with the support of Muslim population.

However, according to the news reported in Hindustan Times, the Army defended the comments of its chief saying that there was “nothing political or religious in the talk”. They further said that “There is nothing political or religious in the talk. Army Chief just mentioned amalgamation and development in the seminar on North-East organised at DRDO Bhawan on 21 Feb 18.”

Reacting to the response of the Army in defending its Chief, Ajmal tweeted that “If nothing political, why was Army Chief dragging a political party, in his speech, whose representatives are democratically elected by Indian citizens?”

Badruddin Ajmal also tweeted that “Gen Bipin Rawat has made a political statement, shocking! Why is it a concern for the Army Chief that a political party, based on democratic & secular values, is rising faster than BJP? Alternative parties like AIUDF, AAP have grown because of the misgovernance of big parties.”

On Wednesday, speaking at the conference on North East, General Bipin Rawat said that “They (Pakistan) will always try and ensure that this area is taken over… playing the proxy dimension of warfare where they do not have to confront a stronger nation through conventional operations.”

He did not use the names of Pakistan and China directly. Instead, he referred Pakistan as “western neighbour” and China as “northern neighbour.”
The army Chief also added that “I think the proxy game is very well played by our western neighbour, supported by our northern neighbour (China) to keep the area disturbed. We will continue to see some migration happening,”