Congress criticises army chief

India's main opposition party the Congress yesterday joined the growing chorus of criticism of army chief General Bipin Rawat for his comment on Assam-based political organisation All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and said the armed forces should maintain its non-political character.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said India takes pride in the fact that its army is non-political. Since India's independence, the army has been non-political. It should remain like that.

At a press conference in New Delhi, the senior Congress leader, who had declined to comment on the issue just a few days ago, said, “We have great regard for the army -- our protector. But it should not be concerned with which political party has grown or where it has got support from."

Rawat on February 21 said Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF grew "faster" than the BJP in Assam in 1980s.

Speaking at a seminar in New Delhi, Rawat had also said that a "planned" influx of people from Bangladesh into India's Northeast is taking place as part of proxy warfare by Pakistan, with support from China, aiming to keep the area unsettled.

AIUDF President Badruddin Ajmal had alleged that Rawat had overstepped his "constitutional jurisdiction" while making the remarks.