GUWAHATI: The chief of the army should not be allowed to contest elections for five years after retirement to discourage generals from cozying up to the ruling party, former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has suggested. Gogoi told this to reporters on Friday in the context of the controversy over Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat 's statement on the growth of the Muslim-centric All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Assam, which was criticised by many as politically loaded. AIUDF is the third largest party in the Assam assembly after BJP and Congress, though its seat tally had actually decreased in 2016. "There is a party called AIUDF. If you look at it, they have grown at a faster rate than the BJP grew over the years.

Source: Economic Times February 24, 2018 17:12 UTC