Assam: Former Barpeta district Congress President Rahim Khan joins AIUDF along with 500 Congress workers

Amid speculations of several leaders of the Congress, planning to quit the party, former Barpeta district Congress President Rahim Khan along with 500 congress workers and local leaders joined the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) today.

In a programme organized by AIUDF, Ex- congress president  Abdur Rahim Khan was welcomed where a large number of party workers along with AIUDF supremo Badaruddin Ajmal was also present.

Rahim Khan made some remarkable statements while addressing the party members. While speaking about the BJP, Khan said, “BJP is doing a religion based politics. They should forget about the dream of creating a Hindu Rastra. Due to hike in BJPs communal politics, last year, around 2 lakh Indian citizens moved to other countries of the world."

On speaking about the Jihadis mushrooming in the state and the subsequent demolition of Madrassas undertaken by the government, Khan said, "Shoot the jihadis or hang them up, we won’t oppose, but under which law Madrassas are being demolished?"

In an earlier report published exclusively by India Today NE, around a dozen current Congress legislators in Assam are likely to join the BJP or AGP – both constituents of the NDA. Four of these MLAs are from the Goalpara district, two two each are from Kamrup (rural), Karimganj, and upper Assam, and one each from middle Assam and Barpeta. One of them will join the AIUDF. This was confirmed to India Today NE by sources in all four parties involved.

Congress has recently faced a lot of infighting, particularly after the cross-voting in the recently concluded presidential elections. Assam witnessed the highest number of cross-voting across the country. Twenty legislators, 12 from Congress, 9 from AIUDF and one from a regional party, voted for NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu, though they were supposed to vote for UPA candidate Yashwant Sinha.

India Today NE was the first to predict that there would be cross-voting in the presidential election, and it was proved to be accurate.

More details awaited.