HOJAI, April 24: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday alleged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was trying to divide Hindus on the basis of castes, but the terrorists who perpetrated the Pahalgam attack just wanted to know the religion of the victims.
Addressing a panchayat poll rally in Hojai, Sarma said there was no room for caste-based politics in the country at the moment.
“Terrorists earlier never asked about the religious identities of their targets, but in Pahalgam, victims were asked about their faith. When they replied that they were Hindus, the men were shot dead right in front of their wives,” he said.
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“Is it a crime to be a Hindu? Hindus have been in India for 5,000 years and will remain here. Such acts are not acceptable,” he asserted.
Maintaining that people of all religions were safe under the BJP government, Sarma urged everyone to unite in the fight against terrorism.
“Hindus and Muslims have to fight terrorism together, have to work together,” he said.
Hitting out at Gandhi, the CM claimed that he was trying to divide the Hindus into OBCs, SCs and STs.
“But the terrorists did not ask the caste, they asked only whether the target was a Hindu or not. There is no room for caste politics. ‘Ek rahenge toh safe rahenge’ (we will be safe if we stay united),” he said, calling upon Hindus to remain united.
“We have to be united and punish countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh,” he added.
Sarma claimed that some people living in Assam were indirectly supporting Pakistan through posts on social media and warned that they would not be spared, however important they may be.
He also spoke of a Congress MP from the state who “stayed in Pakistan” for 15 days without informing the government.
“The Congress has three MPs in Assam. One of them had crossed into Pakistan through the Atari border and stayed there for 15 days without informing the government. We have all the evidence,” he claimed.
“We won’t forgive such people and will take stringent action against them,” he said.
Appealing to the people to support the BJP and its allies in the panchayat polls, Sarma claimed that the state has been witnessing a prolonged phase of peace since 2021.
He alleged that it was only killings, blasts, agitations, corruption, communal riots, and insurgency under the Congress governments, which believed in the ‘panchamrit’ of “lungi, dhoti, suta (yarn), blanket and mosquito net” as means of appeasement.
“But with the BJP coming to power here in 2016, peace has been restored and the state is witnessing rapid strides in growth,” Sarma, who heads the second BJP-led government in the state, said.
The CM said the ration card, which was once a document for “Bangladeshis to fend off police”, is now linked to welfare schemes.
He affirmed the government’s commitment to ensure that the schemes benefit the most deprived section, stating that more assistance in the form of bringing down of LPG cylinder prices and power tariff will be announced later this year. (PTI)
