Politics

Without Citizenship bill, Assam’s 17 assembly seats will go to Bangladeshi muslims: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati | Assam Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said not passing the Citizenship Bill in Rajya Sabha is a defeat for Assam and claimed without it 17 assembly seats in the state will go to Bangladeshi Muslims.

Mr Sarma, who is also the convenor of North East Democratic Alliance, said his party is committed to the Bill and it will fight the elections with this resolution. The Bill is set to lapse on June 3 with the Rajya Sabha being adjourned on the last day of the Budget session, the last parliamentary session before the Lok Sabha polls. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on January 8.

“I think not passing the Bill in Rajya Sabha is a defeat for Assam. Without the Bill, 17 (assembly) constituencies will go to Bangladeshi Muslims,” he told reporters. “Who will save the (Assamese) community?” Mr Sarma added.

The NDA does not have majority in the Rajya Sabha so it could not introduce the document. But it will bring in the legislation again once the BJP-led alliance gets majority, he said.

“My party supports the Bill. BJP is committed and will be committed to it forever. BJP will fight (the elections) with this commitment,” Mr Sarma said

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Centre is trying to break the Muslim-majority character of Jammu and Kashmir: Mehbooba Mufti

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Srinagar | The Centre is “playing with fire” in Jammu and Kashmir by “implementing” BJP’s agenda through Governor Satya Pal Malik, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti alleged on Wednesday, accusing New Delhi of “trying to break the Muslim-majority character” of the state.

She alleged that the Central government, through the governor, is taking decisions which are against the people and the common sentiment of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The whole country and the Centre should accept that this (J-K) is a Muslim-majority state and the decisions should only be taken after taking care of the sentiments of the larger community as well as the minorities,” Mehbooba told reporters at a press conference.

Referring to the governor administration’s decision to grant a division status to the Ladakh region, the former chief minister, said, “We had warned the government that if you selectively create a division, the consequences would be grave.”

“They not only selectively created a division by ignoring the Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley, but also discriminated in selecting its headquarter. For Kargil, Leh is perhaps far away than Srinagar is,” she said.

The state administrative council last week created Ladakh as a separate division in the state and made Leh as its permanent headquarter, leading to protests in Kargil. Mehbooba said there seems to be “Central government’s hand” in the decision.

“We see a hand of the Central government in the decisions being taken now in the state. It seems the agenda, which we did not allow the BJP to implement (when PDP-BJP coalition was in power), is being implemented now through the governor which has led to a volatile situation in Kargil which otherwise was a peaceful area,” she said.

Demanding rotational headquarter in Leh and Kargil as well as a separate division for Pir Panjal and Chenab valley, Mehbooba said the failure to do so would mean there is “some hidden agenda to disempower the Muslims of J-K and divide them on religious and sectarian lines”.

Mehbooba thanked the people of Jammu, especially the members of the Sikh community, and people in south Kashmir for arranging langars for the passengers stranded on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway which had remained closed for about a week due to snowfall.

She criticised the state administration for allegedly not doing enough to mitigate the sufferings of the people stranded on the highway.

 

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