Govt fires salvo at AUDF, BJP for arrest of MLA

Guwahati, June 8 (UNI) Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) MLA Rasul Haq Bahadur, who sparked off a controversy by an autonomous council exclusively for 'minorities,' was today termed a member of a ''communal party'' by the state government.

A day after Mr Bahadur reaffirmed his stand on creating an 'autonomous council' for 'religious and linguistic minorities' in lower Asom, the state government branded the AUDF as a ''communal party, out to do religion-based politics.'' ''Mr Bahadur's statement manifests the communal facet of AUDF and its chief Badruddin Ajmal. They are doing politics on religious lines,'' government spokesperson Himanta Biswa Sarma told a press conference here.

Mr Sarma said under no circumstances would the government allow such politics to develop in the state.

''The legislator's statement has even frowned Muslim leaders and clerics. It is condemnable from all quarters,'' he added.

Mr Bahadur, in a hurriedly convened press briefing yesterday, had vowed to carry forward his ''proposal'' to the President and the Prime Minister, if necessary.

The Dhubri MLA justified his 'proposal' saying it was aimed at the ''all-round development of all deprived sections of people in lower Asom, especially the religious and linguistic minorities.'' Reacting to the proposal, the All Koch-Rajbonshi Students' Union (AKRSU), the most powerful students' organisation of lower Asom, demanded an apology from the MLA.

AKRSU president Biswajit Ray said the legislator's act has hurt the 'Hindu sentiment' of the Koch-Rajbonshi community.

Meanwhile, the BJP had demanded arrest of the MLA, saying 'Mr Bahadur's disposition is indicative of the threat posed to the indigenous people'.

Slamming the silence of the government on the issue, a BJP spokesperson said the MLA has not only violated the Constitution, but was destroying the national integrity of the region.

''He has raised such a demand to shelter the illegal migrants.

He is under the influence of Bangladeshis,'' the party spokesperson claimed.

The saffron brigade also burnt the effigy of the legislator in the city during the day.

UNI