The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badaruddin Ajmal has dubbed the Congress and the BJP as “two sides of the same coin” when it comes to the issue of Hindu Bangladeshis.
“Congress and BJP are two sides of the same coin. Both the parties want Hindu Bangladeshis in Assam,” said AIUDF president and Lok Sabha MP Ajmal.
He said in the run-up to the 2011 Assembly polls, the then chief minister and veteran Congress leader Tarun Gogoi in a rally at Karimganj spoke in support of granting citizenship to the Hindu Bangladeshis.
Ajmal said former Chief Minister Gogoi’s statement had helped the Congress win from 14 Assembly constituencies of the Barak Valley in 2011.
He said the BJP had followed Gogoi’s footsteps and come out in support of giving citizenship to the Hindu Bangladeshis in 2016.
“So, in such circumstances, where is the difference between the Congress and the BJP? In contrast, our party has always maintained that irrespective of religion, no person who entered Assam illegally after March 25, 1971 should be allowed to stay here,” said the perfume baron.
Ajmal added that the Congress “is getting nervous due to the growing popularity of AIUDF”.