Guwahati: Starting his campaign trail for the November 13 byelections to five Assembly seats in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday accused the Congress of trying to rake up the issue of Hindu Bangladeshis.
The Chief Minister said that while the BJP is trying to settle the issue of citizenship to Hindu Bengalis in Assam the Congress is trying to rake up the issue, which will lead to further suffering of the community.
Sarma launched his campaign trail on Tuesday by addressing two rallies in Dholai and campaigned for the BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das. Hindu Bengali-dominated Dholai constituency is going to byelections, along with four others, Bongaigaon, Samaguri, Behali and Sidli.
The saffron party had to face a major embarrassment over the issue as senior BJP leader Amiya Kanti Das earlier stated that the saffron party has given a ticket to Nihar Ranjan Das in Dholai, who is a Bangladeshi. An aggrieved Amiya Kanti Das, who was also a contender for the saffron party ticket also resigned from the BJP and filed nomination as an Independent candidate from Dholai after being denied a ticket by the BJP. He, however, later withdrew his nomination and returned to the party's fold.
The Congress, on the other hand, took up the issue and said that it was the BJP leaders, who had termed the saffron candidate in Dholai as a Bangladeshi.
"We are trying to settle the issue of citizenship to the Hindu Bengalis. However, Congress is trying to rake up the issue, which will lead to further suffering. Nihar Ranjan and his family have all the documents to prove their Indian citizenship. However, Congress is trying to rake up the issue. They want to make the Hindu Bengalis in Barak Valley suffer once again," said Sarnma while replying to the Congress's allegation.
"If they rake up the issue, Nihar Ranjan Das will not suffer, but there will be notices served to hundreds of other Hindu Bengalis. The Congress is working against the Hindu Bengalis here. We are trying to end the crisis, but the Congress is trying to start the problem afresh," Sarma said.
The Assam Chief Minister also slammed the AICC in-charge for Assam Jitendra Singh and said that Singh is one leader, who had never won elections. "Please collect the list of how many times Jitendra Singh had contested and lost elections. He had never won an election," Sarma reiterated.
It may be recalled that Congress leaders, including APCC president Bhupen Bora and AICC in-charge for Assam Jitendra Singh, had earlier attacked the BJP for giving party tickets to a 'Bangladeshi'. "BJP Silchar president Amiya Kanti Das said that Nihar Ranjam Das is not an Indian citizen, but a Bangladeshi. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma must answer the people of Barak Valley as to why the BJP had given ticket to a Bangladeshi in Dholai," Jitendra Singh had stated earlier.
