GUWAHATI: Assam MP Maulana Badruddin Ajmal stirred a hornet’s nest with his remarks that the Hindus should marry at a young age, so they can have more children like the Muslims.
"Muslim boys get married at 22 while Muslim girls do it at 18. The Hindus keep one to three illegal wives till the age of 40 years and they do not allow babies to be born. They save money and enjoy," Ajmal told a news channel in Assam’s Karimganj on Friday.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief continued in the same vein, "They marry after 40 years when forced by the parents or for other reasons. How can you expect to have more children if you marry at such an age? When you plough a fertile land and on time, you get a good harvest."
Suggesting that the Hindus adopt the "Muslim formula", the Dhubri MP said they should arrange the marriage of their sons and daughters when they attain the age of 20-22 years and 18-20 years respectively.
In the wake of the protests, Ajmal withdrew his statement. "If what I said has hurt the sentiments of anybody, I take back my statement," he told journalists on Saturday.
At least two FIRs were filed against him in Guwahati and Hailakandi.
Ajmal also made some alleged offensive remarks on “love jihad” targeting Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The ruling BJP and opposition parties are now going for his jugular.
"Ajmal is a contemporary edition of the harem culture of the Mughals, the Sultans and the Khiljis. In the medieval era, the Muslim aggressors built harems after killing Hindu men. Ajmal is trying to continue that culture," BJP Assam spokesman Ranjib Kumar Sarma said.
BJP MLA Diganta Kalita likened Ajmal to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and said the Assamese society would never accept the Arabic culture.
The AIUDF chief made the remarks soon after the CM had received an interim report from the Commission for Review & Assessment of Problems of Satra Land. Satras are Vaishnavite prayer centres and their lands are under encroachment.
Kalita found a link between Ajmal’s statement and the latter’s vote-bank politics. "We all know that the Satra lands have been encroached upon by the migrant Muslims. Ajmal targeted the CM to protect his vote banks," Kalita said.
The Congress said the police should suo moto register a case against Ajmal for his attempt to break law and order.
"I am surprised why organisations, which champion the cause of the Hindus, have not yet filed a case against him. We cannot tolerate such a communal statement that he made to counter our CM’s remarks on love jihad during the Gujarat election campaign," Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said.
The Trinamool Congress registered its protest by burning Ajmal’s effigy in Guwahati. Calling him an agent of the BJP, the Trinamool demanded his arrest for insulting the Hindus and attempting to incite violence.