Army chief faces flak over All India United Democratic Front, demography remarks

Army chief Bipin Rawat

Army chief Bipin Rawat's remarks about the rise of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and changing demography in the northeast drew a sharp backlash yesterday from the Assam-based party's chief Badruddin Ajmal, who called the comments "politically driven and shocking".

Rawat was slammed for his remarks by opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, but the BJP said there was nothing new in what he had said and the Supreme Court had expressed the same view some time back. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said she would not like to react. "We respect Rawat as the Army chief but the comments made by him on AIUDF is not within his constitutional jurisdiction and we have sought appointment with the President, Prime Minister and Union Home minister to seek clarification," Ajmal told reporters.

Rawat had said on Wednesday that AIUDF's growth has been "faster" than that of the BJP. The Army chief was referring to reports of increase in Muslim population in several Assam districts.

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