Amid the ongoing row over razing of madrasa in Bongaigaon district of Assam, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief and Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal along with a delegation on September 1 visited the demolition site and took note of the situation.
The delegation slammed the state government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the bulldozer drive against the madrasa. “But why only madrasa is targeted? Is it not from any other place, why the other places are ignored? Search every school, college, and university. Why only madrasa? They forget 150 years of good work done by the madrasas. If you find a person guilty, would you raze the entire madrasa? If you found one or 10 Jihadis then arrest them, we have no issue. But demolishing madrasa is illegal,” said Ajmal.
Calling jihad and terrorism a challenge for the country, he said no compromise should be made regarding security.
“Jihadi terrorism is a challenge for the country and for the peaceful environment of the country. There should be no compromise on this. If any Jihadi is found anywhere in madrasa, school or college, the government should catch him/her and can take action. We have nothing to say on this,” he added.
He also took a jibe at the state government and said that people who have personal interests vested in the demolition should be unmasked.
“Today, the Assam chief minister said that he has no intention to demolish madrasa, now the question arises that, who has the personal interest to demolish madrasa. We will have to see this,” said AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal.
He also aligned towards seeking legal help if required and said: “We will challenge it before the court and if needed we will move the Supreme Court.”
AIUDF’s remarks came after the local authorities in Assam on August 31 demolished a madrasa in the Bongaigaon district after allegations that its premises were being used for terror activities.
Several bulldozers were seen conducting the demolition of the Markazul MaArif Quariayana madrasa located at Kabaitary Part-IV village, which falls under Jogighopa police station. The Bongaigaon district administration deployed security personnel in force in the area.
This is the third madrasa to be razed by the Assam government following the arrests of 38 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.
