'I'm ashamed': Badruddin Ajmal apologises for 'Hindus should marry young to produce more kids like Muslims' remark

New Delhi: AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal on Saturday (December 3, 2022) apologised for his remarks purportedly targeting the Hindu community and said that he was 'ashamed' of the controversy it stoked. The Lok Sabha MP from Assam, however, said that his comments were twisted and he had not targeted any community. 

"I have not targeted any individual, nor used the term 'Hindu'. I didn't want to break anyone's heart," he told reporters at Hojai Railway Station in central Assam.

"But it became an issue and I am sorry for it, I am ashamed of it. It shouldn't have happened with a senior person like me," Ajmal added, while claiming that his comments were "twisted".

On police cases against him over the issue, he downplayed it and said "police cases push politicians' graph upwards".

"Many Hindu leaders speak daily against Muslims, but we haven't filed cases against them," he added.

Badruddin Ajmal said that equal development and rights for everyone was at the core of his comments, which were given a different tone.

In an interview with news agency ANI on Friday, Ajmal had commented on women and Hindu men as well as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, purportedly as a response to Sarma's remarks on 'love jihad'.

The AIDUF supremo reportedly advised Hindus to marry young to produce more children like Muslims.

"Muslim men marry at the age of 20-22, and Muslim women also marry at 18 after the permissible age by the government. They (Hindus) keep one two or three illegal wives before marriage, they don't give birth to babies, enjoy themselves, and save money. After the age of 40, they get married under parental pressure... So, how can one expect that they will bear children after 40? If you sow in fertile land then only you can bear good crops. There will then be growth," Ajmal had said.

"They (Hindus) should also follow the formula of Muslims and get their children married at a young age, get them married at the age of 20-22, get the girls married at 18-20 years and then see how many children are born...," he had added.

#WATCH | Hindus should follow the Muslim formula of getting their girls married at 18-20 years, says AIUDF President & MP, Badruddin Ajmal. pic.twitter.com/QXIMrFu7g8 — ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2022

Police complaints filed against Badruddin Ajmal over remarks on Hindus

Meanwhile, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) filed police complaints against Badruddin Ajmal in different parts of the state on Saturday. Its state vice-president Dulu Ahmed filed the complaint at Hatigaon police station in Guwahati, while similar complaints were also filed in Hailakandi and Dhubri.

Ahmed demanded immediate action against Ajmal for his comments as it has led to "widespread reaction and could ignite communal violence".

BJP spokesperson Ranjib Sarma also criticised Ajmal's initial comments and said Ajmal and his ilk view women as mere objects. He also demanded that Ajmal be stripped of his maulana' title.

The Trinamool Congress staged a demonstration in front of its office in Guwahati and burnt an effigy of Ajmal.

"We will not tolerate such comments against women and Hindus. Ajmal is saying these things at the dictates of the BJP with an eye on the Gujarat polls. We demand his immediate arrest," the party's spokesperson Dilip Sharma said.

(With agency inputs)