`BJP targeting Muslims`: AIUDF chief slams CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for bulldozing madrasa in Assam

AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal criticized Himanta Sarma-led Assam government of targeting muslims by bulldozing madrasas in the state. Said they will move to Supreme Court if needed.

Guwahati: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Chief and Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal on Wednesday said that the Assam government should stop its bulldozer drive against Madrasas in the state adding that if needed it will go to the Supreme Court.

"We can’t accept the Assam government’s bulldozer drive against the Madrasas in the state. It should be stopped. If necessary we will move to the Supreme Court or any other against it," Ajmal told ANI.

AIUDF supremo further said that the BJP-RSS are "targeting" Muslims. "There may be some anti-social people in the Muslim community and the government should take action against the bad elements. We have no issue with it. But use a bulldozer in Madrasa can’t be accepted," Ajmal added.

Meanwhile, authorities in Assam on Wednesday demolished a madrassa in the Bongaigaon district after allegations that its premises were being used for terror activities. This is the third madrasa to be razed by the Assam government following the arrests of 37 persons including the Imam and madrasa teachers on charges of being linked to terror outfits Al Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).

There were reports that some militants disguised as religious teachers had sneaked into the state and silently gone ahead with their subversive and anti-state activities. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that some madrassa managements were not running the institution but were running a terrorist hub.

"This is the second madrasa we evicted as they were not running as an institution but as a terrorist hub. I don’t want to generalise, but we investigate and take appropriate action when a complaint of fundamentalism comes," Sarma had said.

'Terrorism in Madrassas'

Recently, Chief Minister Sarma said in a press conference that, six Bangladeshi nationals who are members of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) / Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), entered Assam in 2016-17 and Assam police had arrested one among them and five are still absconding. For better surveillance, Assam Chief Minister reiterated that Islamic teachers coming into the state will be closely monitored and moreover the state was developing a portal where their details will be captured.

"We have laid down standard operating procedures. Locals must inform police if any religious teacher (Imam) coming outside of the state and are not known to them," Sarma told reporters.

"Police will verify the person and then he can carry out his religious teaching in the Madrassas," he said, adding that Muslims of Assam have been cooperating with the government in this process. 

Assam currently has no government-run madrassas as they have recently been converted into regular schools. However, individual or privately-run madrassas continue to exist.