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All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) supremo Maulana Badruddin Ajmal said the elected leaders of his party would build 700 madrasas to compensate for some 750 madrasas closed down in Assam.
The BJP-led Assam government closed down all State-run madrasas in 2023 and converted them into regular schools. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later said his government was talking to Muslim organisations to shut down around 1,000 private madrasas.
Campaigning in central Assam’s Nagaon over the past couple of days, Mr. Ajmal said all AIUDF candidates would get down to opening 700 madrasas after winning the second and third phases of the parliamentary polls on April 26 and May 7.
The AIUDF is standing in three seats — Karimganj and Nagaon in the second phase and Dhubri in the third. Mr. Ajmal seeks to retain Dhubri for the fourth straight term.
‘Education is our right’
“The Supreme Court came down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government for its announcement to close the madrasas. We will also go to the top court and open the madrasas as education is our right,” Mr. Ajmal said.
Campaigning for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections across six parliamentary seats in Assam and Tripura ended on Wednesday along with a part of the Outer Manipur constituency. Elections to 15 of the 28 Assembly segments of Outer Manipur were held on April 19.
More than 93 lakh voters would decide the fate of 74 candidates across these second-phase constituencies in the Northeast.
