Beef being weaponised against Hindus: Assam CM Himanta Sarma after Eid incidents

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that beef is being "weaponized" against Hindus in the state.

He was referring to instances of pieces of the meat being thrown in public places after the Eid celebration last week.

Talking to media persons in Guwahati he said, "In the past if some of Muslim families lived in a Hindu neighbourhood, they would be careful not to create any problems for the Hindus. If they wanted to have beef, they would go to their people living in Muslim-majority areas. Now they throw away the leftovers and waste around so that the Hindus in the neighbourhood have to eventually leave that place.”


Sarma pointed out that beef pieces were left in various places after Eid last week, including in front of Cotton University in Guwahati. “Someone can have it at Eid, but it cannot be weaponized against other people.”

Sarma added "Good Muslims oppose such acts. They do not post photos on Facebook holding beef. I received just three phone calls from Muslim persons after these incidents to say that they do not approve of it".

The Chief Minister, " if things move as it is now, "in 20 years, beef will be thrown in front of Kamakhya temple".

Authorities in western Assam’s Dhubri district-imposed restrictions in Dhubri town, the district headquarters, following unrest over “beef” found in a temple complex.

Invoking Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, District Commissioner Dibakar Nath said there was a likelihood of breach of peace and public tranquillity in areas falling under the Dhubri police station due to communal tension and risks of riots and violent protests.

Sarma claimed that all foreigners were sent away from Gujarat and not a single one went to the court, whereas in Assam, cases are filed daily against action on illegal migrants by Assamese petitioners and lawyers.

Sarma said that Congress had opposed the push back of foreigners. “ Its legislative party leader Debabrata Saikia opposed the same in the state assembly on Monday. “Saikia quoting in the assembly that then PM Jawaharlal Nehru had opposed the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, which empowers district commissioners to identify foreigners and remove them.This goes on to show that Nehru's pro-foreigner stance was from 1950 itself.”

Talking about the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Sarma said that the state government, AASU and others are "not satisfied" with it.
He said the state government has approached the Supreme Court for re-verification of 20-10 percent of the names in various categories, and though the apex court has not agreed to it yet, "we believe the court will accept it".

Sarma on Monday said that over 330 illegal infiltrators were pushed back in the last few months, and this operation will be expedited in the coming days.

Sarma on Monday informed the Assam Legislative Assembly that the government has pushed back almost 330 such illegal foreigners and none of them have returned.

“It is not possible for them to return, and we are firm on this. And this pushback will be intensified; it will be expedited. The way illegal immigrants have entered the state from Bangladesh and Pakistan, we must be more proactive to keep the state safe”.