Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated that India belongs to Hindu and Hindus anywhere in the world, if they feel they are unsafe, can come and live in India.
The chief minister said this on Wednesday (November 9) during the program of Times Now Summit 2021. He said this while responding to Times Now journalist Padmaja Joshi, who asked whether he would support the grant of citizenship to Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh and allow them to settle in Assam.
Sarma stated that India is the natural motherland of Hindus living in any part of the globe. “India belongs to Hindus. Every Hindu has the right to come to India whenever they feel that they are not safe and secure in that land,” Assam CM said.
At @TimesNow Summit, spoke about the need for CAA in the backdrop of Afghan crisis, role of PFI in Dholpur clashes & much more.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 10, 2021
Also reiterated that India belongs to Hindus & whenever they feel persecuted elsewhere they have a right to come back to their motherland. pic.twitter.com/kbV4tiu0DF
“The word Indian came into existence in 1947. But from 7000 years we were known as Hindus. I believe in civilization. This is a Sanatan civilization. This is a Hindu civilization. After we enacted the constitution it was known as India. But you can’t disconnect us from our root. Every Hindu who is in trouble has his motherland to come back to.” Sarma said.
#TimesNowSummit | Assam CM @himantabiswa shares his perspective on the Citizenship Amendment Act.#TimesNowSummit2021 pic.twitter.com/YUzWKEMHRL
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 10, 2021
While he categorically stated his position to safeguard and settle persecuted Hindus he also stated his position on CAA and NRC. He said that no citizen of India should oppose CAA after seeing what happened in Afghanistan where people of minority communities had to flee. “I am sure that there is now a better appreciation for the passing of CAA,” he said.
Sarma on madarsas and Islamist mindset
CM Sarma said there are some people in Assam who want to manufacture mullahs through madrasas. “But I want to establish medical colleges and make them doctors. “This is their (Muslims) choice whether they want their children to be a doctor of mullah,” he said.
“If I go to a Muslim area and say that I want to make their children doctors, they should be happy. Everyone should go to Muslim areas, ask them to shut down madarsas. They (Muslims) should be asked to open schools. Politicians must have the guts to tell them that if a Hindu girl can become a PhD scholar or doctor, how can you force limitations on your daughters?” he said. Sarma said he stopped funding all government madarsas.
But at the same time, he also said that hardcore Hindu voters may be annoyed if he was trying to bring the Muslim community on the road of development and progressivism. But if I have gone to a Muslim-dominated area asking them to shut madrasas, I am making the harder choice,” he said.
Eviction of illegal settlers on government land
Recently, violence erupted in the Darrang district of Assam after the local administration carried an anti-encroachment driver to clear the government land as well as the land of a temple from illegal settlers who are mostly illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants. Assam government refused to buckle under the pressure and said no compensation will be given to the evicted families and only the families who have Indian citizenship will be rehabilitated.
He said that encroachment of government land and illegal settlers were hard issues. However, he said that a case-to-case difference must be maintained.
Congress is the mother of all problems
Attacking the Congress and Gandhi-Nehru family, Sarma also said that most of the problems the country has been facing are created by ‘one family’. Referring to a recent Assam-Mizoram clash he accused that when the Congress divided Assam, it did not settle boundary-related issues in 1972. “Unfortunately, most of the problems the country has faced is because of one family,” he added.
