Assam governor PB Acharya says Indian Muslims in India are ‘free’ to go to Pakistan or anywhere; sparks controversy

GUWAHATI: Assam governor PB Acharya sparked a fresh controversy on Sunday when he said that Indian Muslims in India are ‘free’ to go to Pakistan or anywhere, but Hindus who are persecuted for religious reasons in Bangladesh have the right to come back to India, and it is our duty to receive them because they have no other place to go.

“Indian Muslims can go anywhere they want to — they can go to Pakistan,” said the governor. But he emphasized that Hindus have the right to come to India if they are in trouble. “Similarly, Indian Christians, Jains who face trouble elsewhere, can come here too,” said Acharya.

He further said that the Centre has to come out with a policy on the settlement of those Hindus who have come from different countries since it isn’t possible for just Assam to house all these people. “Like in the past when settlements were given in the Andaman & Nicobar, the Centre must spell out a policy on these people,” he said.

The governor hoped that election in Assam in 2016 will be held on the updated National Register for Citizens (NRC), and expressed concern over the completion of the NRC process. The process is to be completed by December 31 this year.

“Despite extra time being allotted, the work remains incomplete. Around 68 lakh applications are received from across the state. Around 3.5 crore persons are to be verified.”