Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday targeted the opposition and claimed that a new kind of trend has developed nowadays. Hindu MLAs of the state are not even allowed to speak in the House. Sarma told the opposition that please do not be so aggressive. After our land, do not try to capture the assembly now.
During the discussion on the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024, Sarma also strongly criticised the opposition members for disrupting the speech of his party MLA Bhuvan Pegu. Defending Pegu, Sarma said, “A new trend has emerged of not allowing Hindu MLAs, who are originally residents of the state, to speak in the House. This is a dangerous trend. Please don’t be so aggressive. After our land, don’t try to capture the assembly now.”
Pegu was making a statement referring to old assembly records about the alleged migration and aggression of people from the then East Bengal to Assam. “You cannot stop talking about Hindu-Muslim issues. These are the harsh realities of life. Even the census asks us to write our religion,” the chief minister said.
Talking about the bill passed by the assembly, he said it is about the fight of the Assamese community, which is “about to be extinct”, to exist for a few more years. “We have lost our land in Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Darang, Nagaon, Morigaon. Now, we are struggling to survive,” Sarma said.
Protesting this statement, the Congress MLA walked out of the House.