Guwahati: Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the three steps of the Centre — the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, implementing Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and giving ST status to six communities — would make the state a “fort” for the indigenous people.
Alleging that those protesting against the Citizenship Bill were trying to divide the community, he likened the Centre’s efforts for the legislation of the bill to a “battle for respect” (for the indigenous people).
“The protests against the Citizenship Bill are an attempt to trigger a fight against the believers of Indian culture and heritage…. The three steps of the Citizenship Bill, Clause-6 and ST status will make Assam a fort for the indigenous people,” the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.
“If the three decisions of the Centre are implemented, then Durga Puja and ‘Bhagwad Path’ (public reading of the Bhagwad Gita) will continue to take place at Sarbhog and Barpeta, which are demographically sensitive areas, for the next 10 years,” he told a BJP workers’ rally here.
Sarma, who had stoked a controversy earlier this month with his “Jinnah’s legacy” remark and by saying that Hindus would become a minority in Assam in five years, reiterated that the Hindu population in the state would dwindle to 51-52 per cent by 2021 from 61 per cent now if the Citizenship Bill was not implemented.
“In the Assam Assembly, 37 seats have gone. If this bill does not come, more seats will go,” he claimed.
Continuing to speak in support of the bill, the finance minister said, “By 2021, (AIDUF chief) Badruddin Ajmal will decide whether Assam will become Kashmir or not. Then it will be decided by (his brother and Barpeta MP) Sirajuddin Ajmal.
“The situation is such that I am being threatened on my mobile phone. I get messages, saying come to our place, we will see you… I am the number two minister in Assam. If I am threatened like this, what is left?”
Sarma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal would always be remembered in Assam if the bill was passed.
Stating that he would do “anything” to safeguard Assam and the country, the minister said, “I do not want a certificate from those whose hands are soaked with blood in Kashmir.” (PTI)
