Former Bihar governor and veteran Congress leader Devananda Konwar on Wednesday here joined the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of Badruddin Ajmal. “The AIUDF is more secular than the Congress,” he said immediately after joining the party. Konwar (73) , who had served as law minister in the Congress government of Hiteswar Saikia in 1991-96 and later became finance minister in Tarun Gogoi’s first government in 2001, was dropped after he allegedly tried to indulge in dissident activities against the chief minister. Appointed Bihar governor in 2009, Konwar had landed in several controversies during his tenure, the most important centering around his alleged role in appointment of vice-chancellors of several universities in that state. He had also stirred some controversies while officiating as West Bengal governor for a couple of months in 2009-10, and was shifted in March 2013 to Tripura to complete his five-year tenure. “The AIUDF is more secular than the Congress. The Congress is spreading false propaganda that AIUDF is communal party. I know the Congress for many decades. But the AIUDF is committed to its ideology and principles,” Konwar said after joining the party. He also praised the AIUDF for its anti-BJP stand and said it had grown from a small party 10 years ago to become second largest party in Assam after the Congress. (ends)
