AIUDF Rafikul says state govt targeting minorities in encounters

Assam: All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) leader Rafikul Islam on February 19 criticized the state government for targeting minorities through encounter and unprecedented eviction drive.
Firing guns at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the state police over the eviction drive and encounter cases, Rafikul Islam said while talking to the media, “Earlier we used to hear about secret killings, but now we hear about evictions. In the name of campaigning, witnessing open killings, meetings”
Rafikul Islam added that the state government has completely failed to fulfill its promises. Criticizing CM Sarma, Rafikul said, “CM Sarma has claimed that the eviction drive will continue, the encounters will continue. Is the Assam Police so weak? Our CM is not a fool. He himself claims. If we have a smart and strong police, then how can the criminals escape from the police?
“Whenever our Chief Minister has failed to fulfill his promises, he diverts people’s attention by taking unnecessary measures. A laborer can earn Rs 15000 per month by working hard. Finally, the Chief Minister has failed in every aspect. He has also failed completely in development. There is complete destruction of the economy. Additional prices are added. Today, teachers who were working in venture schools and have been shifted to provincial schools are earning Rs 10,000 per month,” Rafikul added.
Earlier, AIUDF leader Karim Uddin Barbhuiya criticized the Assam state government as well as the state police for conducting encounters against minorities under the instructions of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
“Government is carrying out eviction campaign against Muslims on the direction of RSS, doing encounters. If you remember, a question was raised this year that how many encounters have happened in the current year, the government replied that Not a single encounter took place. Earlier, they used to show on TV how criminals escaped from police custody and how the encounter happened. But now, you will not see a single such case,” Karim Uddin Barbhuiya told to Media in an exclusive conversation.
Barbhuiya criticized the government saying that all these encounters have targeted the Muslim community and the recent eviction drive has been carried out from areas with a Muslim majority population.
In Assam, the eviction campaign and the encounter are deeply resented by the AIUDF. The party had earlier criticized the state government for allegedly targeting a particular community.