All problems will be solved if all stop eating beef: Himanta Sarma
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Guwahati: BJP leader and Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said that he would ban beef in the state if Congress asks for it and that all problems there would be solved. According to the CM, when Hindus, Muslims, Christians and all stop eating beef, all problems will be solved, PTI reported.
The BJP leader was reacting to allegations by the Congress that the BJP offered beef to Muslim voters to woo them in Muslim-dominated Samaguri. The constituency was represented by Congress for the last five terms.
“Samaguri was with Congress for 25 years. Congress losing a constituency like Samaguri by 27,000 votes (sic) is the biggest shame in its history. It is Congress's defeat more than BJP's win," he told reporters here.
BJP's Diplu Ranjan Sarmah defeated Congress' Tanzil, son of party MP Rakibul Hussain, by 24,501 votes in a bypoll last month.
"But amidst sadness, Rakibul Hussain said one good thing that eating beef is wrong, isn't it? He said that it was wrong for Congress-BJP to win elections by offering beef to voters," the Chief Minister said when asked about the MP's reported comment.
"I want to know if Congress was winning Samaguri by offering beef to voters. He knows Samaguri very well. Does it mean that Samaguri can be won by offering beef?" asked Mr Sarma.
Hussain, who won the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat this year by a record margin of over 10.12 lakh votes, was an MLA from Samaguri for five consecutive terms before becoming a parliamentarian.
"I want to tell Rakibul Hussain that beef should be banned as he himself said it is wrong. He only needs to give me in writing that neither BJP nor Congress should speak about beef, in fact, it should be banned in Assam. If we do that, all problems will be solved," Mr Sarma said.
The Chief Minister further said that he would write to the state Congress president about his stand on beef in the backdrop of Hussain's statement.
"So, I will write to Bhupen Borah and ask him if he also advocates banning beef in line with Rakibul Hussain, and just inform me. I will ban beef completely in the next assembly (accordingly). Then BJP, AGP, CPM, nobody will be able to offer, and Hindus, Muslims and Christians all should stop eating beef, and all problems will be solved," the BJP leader said.
