Badruddin Ajmal and his party AIUDF stand for protecting Bangladeshis: Sarbananda Sonowal

How do you rate the Congress?

The people of Assam have had the misfortune of being ruled 10 years by the Congress at the Centre and 15 years in the state. They also sent a PM from here. But, as our PM Narendra Modi has said, had the Congress been so efficient, there should not have been any problem left in these 15 years. But look at the list of problems the Congress has pointed out. Who created those? Yes, the Congress was hugely successful in one aspect — decentralisation of corruption. No file moves in government offices without money. Bribe has become the password. Well-meaning schemes have failed because of misuse of funds.

Will the BJP be able to end corruption?

Yes. The people have seen how the system is now working after Modiji became PM. There has been not one black spot on the government. The vehicle for delivery made defective by the Congress has been repaired. The Tarun Gogoi government is rattled after the Centre has started asking for utilisation certificates for centrally funded schemes undertaken in Assam since 2001. The people, particularly the youth, are watching this.

Are you banking mostly on the youth?

Obviously. I come from a student organisation, and have always been working with the youth. I am also lucky that Modiji entrusted me with Sports and Youth Affairs. I have interacted, spent hours with over 30,000 students from 1,175 institutions of Assam in the past one month. These 30,000 will take the message of development to 30 lakh youth, who in turn will touch 30 lakh families. We will also nominate the maximum number of young candidates.

How do you rate Badruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF?

There is no confusion about the fact that Ajmal and his party stand for protecting Bangladeshis. He formed the party in 2005 after the Supreme Court quashed the IM(DT) Act describing it as a hurdle in detecting infiltrators. Ajmal’s party vowed to protect those people… People so long protected by the Congress shifted to the AIUDF. Now, seeing that the AIUDF has hijacked its major vote bank comprising such people, and seeing that the indigenous people are with the BJP, the Congress is tying up with the AIUDF.

Modi had promised Bangladeshi immigrants would have to pack up after he became PM. How will you ask for votes again with such issues pending?

That is the Congress’s perception. On Bangladeshi influx, it is our government that has expedited the process. Updating the National Register of Citizens, agreed upon by Congress governments at the Centre and in the state in 2005, remained a nonstarter until Modiji took it up. It was because of the BJP government that 100 foreigners’ tribunals have become functional. Long-pending boundary disputes with Bangladesh have been settled. Sealing of the boundary is in full swing. Our government has decided in principle to grant ST status to six more communities of Assam without disturbing the benefits enjoyed by existing such communities. An expert committee has been set up as per the wishes of the agitating groups for the Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project.

The Congress has projected Modi as a cartoon character selling sour mangoes to people. It has posed questions on hoardings. Why hasn’t your party responded?

The contents of those hoardings reflect the cheap taste and ugly mentality of the Congress. It is unpatriotic to put up such hoardings about the PM of the country when sports delegations of seven other countries are arriving in Guwahati for the South Asian Games. We don’t want to counter those hoardings. Go and ask the common people, nine out of ten have disliked them and are asking the Congress what it did in 15 years.

In 2014 the BJP spoke of winning on its own in 2016. Why are you seeking allies?

We can win a majority on our own. But, since the BJP is committed towards protecting the interests of the indigenous communities including the ethnic tribes against the backdrop of Bangladeshi influx, we want to take all such groups and communities with us. The Bodo People’s Front has already become our ally. We are talking to others too.

You have the challenge of striking a balance between old BJP workers and Congress leaders who have recently joined your party as well as a large group that came from your earlier party, the AGP. Isn’t that difficult?

No, not at all. The BJP is such a party where everybody gets equal importance. Moreover, the moment one joins the BJP, he or she immediately loses the earlier identity and becomes BJP. There is no ex-AGP or ex-Congress inside the BJP. All are BJP and nothing else. Moreover, the rule has been clearly set: once the candidate list is finalised, all other aspirants in their respective constituencies will work round the clock to ensure the party’s victory.