UDALGURI, July 3: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday took a dig at opposition Congress, accusing it of lacking the courage to speak out against the slaughter of cows by Muslims during ‘qurbani’ and the alleged throwing of beef near religious places.
Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting, Sarma said the BJP is the only party that can request the Muslim community to perform ‘qurbani’ with animals other than cows.
“I can challenge the Congress that they don’t have the courage to speak on ‘qurbani’. BJP can openly say that Islam does not recognise ‘qurbani’ of cows. ‘Qurbani’ can be of any animal. BJP has the courage to request the public not to carry out ‘qurbani’ of cows next time, but to do it with goats,” Sarma said.
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“Can Congress do it? They will have to take birth seven times to say this line. So, who is the well-wisher of cows?” the CM asked.
He further questioned whether the Congress ever protested the selling of beef openly in shops and throwing of meat in front of Namghar.
“Has the Congress condemned the Dhubri incident? Or will they condemn the Hajo case, in which beef was found today? Should they not speak about dead cows to find out who killed them? The Congress operates in reverse order. Where it should play, it is silent, and it is silent where it should raise its voice,” he said.
According to police, around 80 people have been arrested across Dhubri, Hojai, Goalpara, and Lakhimpur districts for allegedly throwing beef parts during Eid celebrations last month. On Thursday, parts of meat suspected to be beef were also found in Hajo in Kamrup district.
“Opposition parties don’t raise their voice where they should. Thousands of cows are killed for ‘qurbani’ in Assam. Should we raise our voices for living cows or the dead ones?” Sarma questioned.
Sarma also slammed the Congress and other opposition parties for repeatedly raising allegations of corruption regarding the Gorukhuti Multipurpose Agriculture Project in Sipajhar, Darrang district.
“The aim of Congress is to shut down the Gorukhuti project and bring back the evicted encroachers to the same land. Now, people in Gorukhuti have taken a vow not to allow anyone in the area. People have given answers to the Congress,” Sarma said.
The Gorukhuti project was set up after a massive eviction drive was carried out in 2021 to clear 77,420 bighas from alleged encroachers, belonging mostly to Bengali-speaking Muslims, in which two persons, including a 12-year old boy, were killed in police firing.
The CM also said, “After the Narengi-Kuruwa bridge is ready, the valuation of Gorukhuti land will soar and indigenous people will benefit as land rights are with them. If there was no eviction, the benefit of land prices would not be available to our own people.”
Later this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to lay the foundation of a Rs 7500-crore Guwahati ring road project, including a bridge over Brahmaputra connecting Narengi and Kuruwa. (PTI)
