NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday made a fresh claim about the Muslim community, saying it will become majority in the state by 2041.
Substantiating his claims, the Assam CM said the Muslim population in the state is growing around 30 per cent every decade, which is nearly double the Hindu population growth of 16 per cent.
Himanta said Muslims have now become 40 per cent of Assam’s population as per “statistical sampling”.
“By 2041, Assam will become a Muslim-majority state. It’s a reality and nobody can stop it,” the Assam CM said, according to news agency PTI.
Himanta also said that his government has taken steps to reduce population growth among the Muslim community.
In a dig at Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, BJP’s firebrand leader asked him to become the “brand ambassador of population control“.
“Congress has the most important role in arresting the population growth of Muslims… If Rahul Gandhi becomes the brand ambassador of population control, it will be contained as the community only listens to him,” Himanta said.
A few days ago, Himanta, who is BJP’s poll in-charge in Jharkhand, stoked a massive controversy after he suggested the state to treat Assam as a cautionary tale of how demographic change caused by “infiltration from Bangladesh” has become “a matter of life and death” for the Assam’s indigenous population.
Speaking in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, Himanta said: “In Assam, Muslim population is 40 per cent. It was 12 per cent in 1951. We lost districts due to infiltration and demographic change…It isn’t a political issue for me. I keep fighting this day in and out,” Sarma said on the sidelines of meetings to take stock of the BJP’s poll preparations.
Rebutting Himanta’s claim, Jharkhand Congress chief Rajesh Thakur said Sarma must pose questions to PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah if he genuinely cared for the state and the country.
“If he or BJP is talking about infiltration, then it must first accept that the country’s borders aren’t safe under the Modi govt,” Thakur said.
Substantiating his claims, the Assam CM said the Muslim population in the state is growing around 30 per cent every decade, which is nearly double the Hindu population growth of 16 per cent.
Himanta said Muslims have now become 40 per cent of Assam’s population as per “statistical sampling”.
“By 2041, Assam will become a Muslim-majority state. It’s a reality and nobody can stop it,” the Assam CM said, according to news agency PTI.
Himanta also said that his government has taken steps to reduce population growth among the Muslim community.
In a dig at Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, BJP’s firebrand leader asked him to become the “brand ambassador of population control“.
“Congress has the most important role in arresting the population growth of Muslims… If Rahul Gandhi becomes the brand ambassador of population control, it will be contained as the community only listens to him,” Himanta said.
A few days ago, Himanta, who is BJP’s poll in-charge in Jharkhand, stoked a massive controversy after he suggested the state to treat Assam as a cautionary tale of how demographic change caused by “infiltration from Bangladesh” has become “a matter of life and death” for the Assam’s indigenous population.
Speaking in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, Himanta said: “In Assam, Muslim population is 40 per cent. It was 12 per cent in 1951. We lost districts due to infiltration and demographic change…It isn’t a political issue for me. I keep fighting this day in and out,” Sarma said on the sidelines of meetings to take stock of the BJP’s poll preparations.
Rebutting Himanta’s claim, Jharkhand Congress chief Rajesh Thakur said Sarma must pose questions to PM Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah if he genuinely cared for the state and the country.
“If he or BJP is talking about infiltration, then it must first accept that the country’s borders aren’t safe under the Modi govt,” Thakur said.