After Chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIDUF), Badruddin Ajmal, said Hindus should adopt "the Muslim formula" by getting their boys married at 20-22 and girls at 18-20 years of age, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) lodged police complaints on Saturday against Ajmal for targeting women and the Hindu community.
AJP vice-president Dulu Ahmed filed the complaint at Hatigaon police station here and in Hailakandi by the party's chief convenor there. Ahmed demanded immediate action against Ajmal, a Lok Sabha MP, for his comments as it has led to “widespread reactions in the society and could ignite communal violence”. The police confirmed receiving the complaint and said investigation has been started in the matter.
The controversy
AiDUF chief Ajmal, on Friday, had said: "Muslim men marry at the age of 20-22, and Muslim women marry at 18 after the permissible age by the government. On the other hand, they [Hindus] keep one, two or three illegal wives before marriage, they don't give birth to babies, enjoy themselves and save money." When asked about the rise in the Muslim population—a frequent subject of right-wing invectives—the AIDUF chief said, "After the age of 40 they get married under parental pressure... So, how can one expect that they will bear children after 40? If you sow in fertile land, only then you can bear good crops. There will then be growth."
The politician also responded to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's recent comments on "Love Jihad" in reference to the Shraddha Walker murder case. Love jihad is a term used by right-wing groups and activists to allege a concerted effort by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage. Sarma had said: "I see it (ignoring love jihad) as a politics of appeasement by some. It is a concern for security of women. There is evidence of love jihad.
Ajmal countered: “The chief minister is one of the top leaders of the country today. So, who is stopping him, you also carry out four to five ‘Love Jihad’ and take away our Muslim girls. We will welcome it and won’t even fight. It will also be seen how much power you have.”
The backlash
Ajmal's political detractors linked his remarks to the Gujarat Assembly polls and alleged that the AIUDF supremo was toeing the BJP line to "rescue" the party, which is in power in the western state. The TMC even burnt his effigy here.
State Congress president Bhupen Bora was quick to sniff a conspiracy between Ajmal and the chief minister in creating the "controversy".“Ajmal and Himanta Biswa Sarma are conspiring together to divert attention from the core issues facing the people and to keep them engaged elsewhere,” he maintained.
The Trinamool Congress staged a demonstration in front of its office here and burnt an effigy of Ajmal. “We will not tolerate such comments against women and Hindus. Ajmal is saying these things at the dictates of BJP with an eye on the Gujarat polls. We demand his immediate arrest,” the party's spokesperson Dilip Sharma said.
However, BJP spokesperson Ranjib Sarma, said “Ajmal and his ilk view women as mere objects. The words he has used against our chief minister should be challenged by the entire civilised society.” He also demanded that Ajmal be stripped of his ‘maulana' title.
