'Kala Pahar (Ajmal) sits on the lap of Cong that never wanted 2 Assams to be one'

GUWAHATI: Badruddin Ajmal was a Mughal till the other day. Today the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) supremo became the Bengal Sultanate general Kala Pahar who had abortively tried to demolish the Kamakhya Temple here. And, he sits on the lap of Congress that never wanted two Assams to be one.

The statements came from Union home minister Amit Shah addressing and interacting with the BJP's 'cyber warriors', youth leaders, women party workers and others at the Town Hall of Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra here on the second day of the the saffron party's official campaign for the Assam assembly elections 2021.

"I have studied the history of Assam. People of Assam will certainly know Kala Pahar. But, you don't have to know history to know Kala Pahar. Kala Pahar is sitting on the lap of Congress. And, with Kala Pahar on its lap, can the Congress achieve Srimanta Sankardeva's ideological Assam or spread Bhupen Hazarika's voice across the world or fulfill the dreams of Lachit Borphukan? Can they protect Assam from infiltration? Who’s going to fulfil Sankardeva’s dreams? AGP-BJP alliance or Congress-Ajmal? You have to decide what kind of Assam you want and who’ll give you that," said Shah.

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Kala Pahar (born as Rajiblochan Roy in the ancient Bangladesh's Naogaon zilla) was a Muslim general of Bengal Sultanate under the then Karrani Dynasty, who is mentioned in the Mughal Empire records as the one who attacked Puri Jagannath Temple with his army to tear down the Konark temple. He was born a  Brahmin and later converted to Islam. He is stated to be the Muslim general under whose orders the Kamakhya Temple here was razed and partially destroyed. 

Interestingly, despite repeated jibes and slurs by the BJP, the AIUDF has so far showed its character. The Ajmal-led party has never bothered to hit back with any counter-slur.

Accusing the Congress of ignoring development and progress and adopting "divide and rule" policy all along, Shah said: "The Congress never wanted the two Assams to be one. So they never built another bridge over the Brahmaputra for decades together. The Narendra Modi governemnt built six bridges over the Brahmaputra over the past six years." 

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Trying to counter anti-Citizenship Amendement Act sentiment of the people of Assam, he also claimed the BJP was taking all initiatives to safeguard the cultural identity of Assam. "It is only the BJP that can safeguard the culture of Assam. We don't claim it. We've done it. There were Congress governments who never bothered to decorate Bhupen Hazarika with the highest civilian award. We did it," Shah said.

Lauding the eviction of encroachers from Satra land by the BJP government and financial grants to 8000 naamghars (community halls) in Assam, Shah said: "Our party manifesto is yet to be released. But, let me announce something for you today. If the BJP is voted back to power, the state government will grant Rs 2.5 lakh to every single naamghar in the state."

Claiming the BJP government has brought about an end to the culture of agitation in Assam and restored peace through the Bodoland Accord and ending militancy in Karbi Anglong, Shah said the BJP-Asom Gana Parishad alliance government can only make Assam free from flood and influx.

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Criticising the Congress-AIUDF alliance, Shah said: "I don't understand what kind of an alliance is it. Tarun Gogoi used to ask who is Ajmal? His son (Gaurav Gogoi) should be ashamed of joining hands with the same Ajmal ... Congress talks about secularism with Ajmal the Kala Pahar sitting on its lap in Assam and aligning with Muslim League in Kerala. If Ajmal-Congress comes to power, can they safegiard Assam’s culture?" the veteran BJP leader said.  

He said the BJP would fight this election on five pillars -- Suraksha-aur-Samman, Sankskriti-aur-Sabhyata, Samriddhi-aur-Judau, Shanti-aur-Sambad, Swanirbharta-aur-Aatmanirbharta. "We want to take Assam forward on these five pillars. And for that, our cyber warriors will have to reach out to every household of Assam through the mobile phones," he said.