Guwahati: BJP leader and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is known for his anti-Muslim discourse, claimed on Saturday that the Muslim population, particularly those Muslims who are of Bangladesh origin, is increasing in the state, and this will result in attempts to turn Assam into a part of Bangladesh, according to a report by the Times of India.
He claimed that the population of people of Bangladeshi origin has crossed 40 per cent in the state, and it is still increasing. He claimed that once it crosses the 50 per cent mark, there will be attempts to convert the state into Bangladesh territory.
He went on to suggest that if there is a war between India and Bangladesh, the so-called Bangladeshi population will side with Bangladesh.
“If there is a war between India and Bangladesh, who will these settlers support? Where does their loyalty lie?” TOI quoted Sarma.
Highlighting the upcoming assembly polls in the state, Sarma claimed that the BJP is the only hope for the people of the state to stop the situation he mentioned.
He claimed that during his lifetime, he witnessed “infiltrators” population rise from 21 per cent to nearly 40 per cent while the population of the Assamese community significantly diminished.
He claimed that the narrative that Assam is the land of ‘Sankar-Azan,’ (Vaishnav saint Sankardeva and Sufi saint Azan Fakir) is false. He claimed that the truth is “Assam was, is, and will always remain the land of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev & Mahapurush Madhabdev. We will never allow misleading narratives, false equivalences or comparisons of our Mahapurush with Ajan Fakir to weaken our cultural identity and civilisational ethos,” TOI quoted him.