All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal Wednesday hurled abuses at a journalist who questioned him if he had a backdoor alliance with the BJP in the recently concluded Panchayat elections in Assam.
At a press conference held in Mankachar, South Salmara-Mankachar district in Assam, the journalist (a stringer for ETV Bharat, a digital news platform headquartered in Hyderabad) asked Ajmal if his party had any plans of allying with either the BJP or the Congress for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Ajmal refused a direct reply and said, “We are with Mahagathbandhan (opposition) in Delhi.”
When the journalist asked Ajmal if his party’s policy was to ally with whoever was in power at the Centre, whether it was Congress or BJP, a visibly enraged Ajmal asked the journalist how much money (“in lakhs or crores?”) had he been been paid to ask him this question.
Ajmal then went on to say that he has been observing the journalist in question for a while now and that he was out to create trouble.
#WATCH AIUDF Chief Badruddin Ajmal in Hatsingimari, Assam threatens to smash head of journalist who asked him if he'll ally with Congress or BJP in future: Go dogs, for how much money have you been bought by BJP? Go away, I will smash your head. Go register a case against me. pic.twitter.com/XQvp5mZ4it
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2018
“How many crores will you give? (abuse)… Is it journalism? People like you are demeaning journalism. This man is against us from earlier on.” Ajmal then rained more abuses, snatched the mike of another journalist and tried to hit the scribe who had asked the question.
“He is asking for how much money will I be sold to BJP? His father will be sold. Go from here or else I will break your head. Go and file a case against me…(abuse)… I have my men in court…you will be finished. You have done this earlier also,” the leader said.
Made to aplogise after the incident, the TV journalist later filed an FIR against the lawmaker. “People gathered there and I was about to be thrashed. I was forced to apologise and I did it to save my life. I have already filed an FIR,” he said.
In the 2013 state panchayat elections, the AIDUF emerged as the second-largest party, with 72 zilla panchayat seats. This tally reduced to 26 in the recently held Assam panchayat polls, where the party performed miserably.