Beef being ‘weaponised' against Hindus; Assamese people must take ‘non-compromising stance': Sarma
Stressing that Assamese people have to take a 'non-compromising' stance to push back illegal foreigners, he maintained that Assam was waging a struggle against forces which had 'sympathisers' across the globe.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, Sarma said, 'Earlier, if a couple of Muslim families lived in a Hindu neighbourhood, they would be careful not to create any problems for the Hindus. If they wanted to have beef, they would go to their people living in Muslim-majority areas.'
'But now, it has become such that they will throw away the leftovers and waste around so that the Hindus in the neighbourhood have to eventually leave that place,' he added.
He cited the instances of beef being purportedly left in various places after Eid last week, including in front of Cotton University here.
'Someone can have it at Eid, but it cannot be weaponised against other people,' Sarma asserted.
He rued that no protests were held against the act and maintained that the number of voices opposing such incidents are coming down.
'Good Muslims oppose such acts. They do not post photos on Facebook holding beef,' he said, adding that he received just three phone calls from Muslim persons after these incidents to say that they do not approve of it.
The chief minister expressed apprehension that if things move as it is now, 'in 20 years, beef will be thrown in front of Kamakhya temple'.
While police have a role in curtailing such incidents, support of the people behind the force is necessary for it to take decisive steps, Sarma added.
He asserted that the Assamese people have to take a 'non-compromising stance to protect ourselves' and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government was willing to lend all its help.
'Modi ji is saying push back (illegal foreigners), but Assamese people are questioning why push back is happening. Most criticism of the push back is coming from Assamese people… Modi ji alone cannot protect us,' he said.
He claimed that all foreigners were sent away from Gujarat by PM Modi and not a single one went to the court, whereas in Assam, cases are filed daily against action on illegal migrants by Assamese petitioners and lawyers.
Sarma said that Congress and its legislative party head Debabrata Saikia had opposed the push back of foreigners in the assembly on Monday, but no organisation has protested their stand or media criticised the party for it.
He also cited Saikia quoting in the assembly that then PM Jawaharlal Nehru had opposed the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, which empowers district commissioners to identify foreigners and remove them. 'This goes on to show that Nehru's pro-foreigner stance was from 1950 itself,' he said.
'Our struggle is against forces which have sympathisers everywhere in the world,' Sarma maintained.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
22 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Top news of the day on July 23, 2025
Election Commission of India begins preparations to hold vice-presidential poll The Election Commission of India (ECI) said it has begun the process of holding the vice-presidential election and has started constituting the electoral college comprising MPs of both Houses of Parliament. The poll panel said it is also finalising Returning Officers for the vice-presidential election. "On completion of the preparatory activities, the announcement of the election schedule to the office of the Vice-President of India will follow as soon as possible," the ECI said. Ahmedabad plane crash: 'Established protocols' followed for identifying victims, says India after U.K. media report on families receiving wrong bodies The Indian government is working closely with U.K. authorities to 'address concerns' raised by an aviation lawyer about families bereaved after the June 12 Ahmedabad Air India crash, receiving wrongly identified last remains, including in one case where remains of more than one person were placed in the same casket .British newspaper Daily Mail reported that relatives of one victim had to abandon funeral plans after being informed that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger. Parliament Monsoon Session: Deadlock continues in Parliament as both Houses see no business for third straight day Parliament remained in deadlock, as Opposition protests, demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, continued to stall proceedings in both Houses. Repeated adjournments rocked both Houses and no business was conducted on the day. Both Houses were adjourned immediately after commencing, only to reconvene and be immediately adjourned two more times in the day. Opposition members protested in Lok Sabha with placards Parliament failed to transact any business on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) too. PM Modi embarks on four-day visit to U.K., Maldives Prime Minister Narendra Modi left on a four-day visit to the U.K. and the Maldives, expressing confidence that this will boost India's ties with the two countries. In his departure statement, Mr. Modi said India and the United Kingdom share a comprehensive strategic partnership that has witnessed significant progress in recent years. He noted that the collaboration between the two countries spans a wide range of sectors, including trade, investment, technology, innovation, defence, education, research, sustainability, health and people-to-people ties. India extends airspace closure for Pakistan planes till August 24 India has extended the closure of its airspace for Pakistan planes by another month till August 24. In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on April 22, India closed its airspace for planes operated, owned or leased by Pakistan airlines and operators, including military flights, with effect from April 30. The ban is part of various measures taken by the government against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. Polls being 'stolen'; will bring out 'vote theft' in black and white with Karnataka example: Rahul Amid the raging row over revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that elections are being "stolen" in India and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the "vote theft" by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka. Mr. Gandhi said he would put before the people and the Election Commission in black in white on how the "theft of votes" is being done. V-P Dhankhar's resignation: Mallikarjun Kharge says 'daal mein kuch kaala hai', seeks govt. clarification Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that there is something fishy about Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation as the Vice-President and asked the government to clarify on it. Mr. Kharge claimed that Mr. Dhankhar used to "defend" the BJP and the RSS more than the BJP-RSS people themselves, but still had to resign. CJI agrees to constitute Bench to hear plea on behalf of Justice Varma Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai said he will constitute a Bench for hearing a petition filed on behalf of Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, challenging the in-house inquiry procedure and the then Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna's recommendation to the President and Prime Minister, in the month of May, to remove the judge from office. The Chief Justice said he, however, would not be part of the Bench. Dharmasthala burial case: 20 police personnel posted in SIT Three days after the government of Karnataka formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of mass burials at Dharmasthala, on July 22, the State police chief posted 20 personnel drawn from various units of the Western range to assist the team headed by Pronab Mohanty, along with DIG M.N. Anucheth, DCPs S.K. Soumyalatha and Jitendra Kumar Dayama. The order also drew the curtains on rumours about M.N. Anucheth and Soumyalatha excusing themselves from the probe citing personal reasons. Pakistan steeped in fanaticism, terrorism: India tells UNSC meeting India told a United Nations Security Council meeting presided over by Pakistan that there should be a 'serious cost' to nations who foment cross-border terrorism, as it described the neighbouring country as a 'serial borrower' steeped in 'fanaticism'. 'As we debate promoting international peace and security, it is essential to recognise that there are some fundamental principles which need to be universally respected. One of them is zero tolerance for terrorism,' India's Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said. India-Pakistan war was probably going to end up nuclear: Trump U.S. President Donald Trump claimed yet again that he 'stopped the recent war' between India and Pakistan and that five planes were shot down in the conflict. He also claimed that the conflict between India and Pakistan "was probably going to end up in a nuclear war". "We stopped wars between India and Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda," he said at a reception in the White House with the Congress members. Trump announces trade deal with Japan including 15% tariff U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade framework with Japan, placing a 15% tax on goods imported from that nation. 'This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,' Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States 'will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.' IND vs ENG Test 4 Day 1: England opt to bowl against India in 4th Test; Kamboj makes debut, three changes in India's playing XI England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl against India in the fourth Test. Grappling with a spate of injuries, India made three changes to their playing XI, bringing in Sai Sudharsan, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj in place of Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy and Akash Deep. England also made a change with Liam Dawson replacing fellow spinner Shoaib Bashir, who suffered a hand injury in the third Test at the Lord's.
Mint
22 minutes ago
- Mint
Who will be next Vice President? Harivansh, Nitish, Arif among in race to succeed Jagdeep Dhankhar
The Election Commission of India said on Wednesday that it has already begun the process of electing a new Vice President. The announcement comes two days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post, opening the contest for his successor. Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022. His five-year term would end in August 2027. Dhankhar's abrupt resignation means a new Vice President has not been elected within the next two months. While the Election Commission has yet to announce the poll schedule, sources say the country will likely have a new Vice President by the end of August. Dhankhar's resignation has set off a wave of speculation about his potential successor. One of the past governors, as Dhankhar was of West Bengal before taking the vice president's office, or a seasoned organisational leader or one of the Union ministers – the BJP has a large pool of leaders to choose from for the position. Dhankhar's resignation comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the process of electing its new national president, replacing JP Nadda. According to some reports, the saffron party may get a new president after August 15. Whenever the election happens, the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the opposition INDIA bloc will field their candidates for the top post. The electorate for the Vice Presidential election comprises all members of both Houses of Parliament, using a proportional representation system via single transferable vote. The MPs will cast a single transferable vote with a secret ballot. The electoral college currently has 788 MPs- 588 in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha. The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority in the electorate, which means the NDA candidate will be the next Vice President of India At present, the effective strength of both Houses is 786, and the winning candidate will require 394 votes, considering that all eligible voters exercise their franchise. In the Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA enjoys the support of 293 of the 542 members. The ruling alliance has the support of 129 members in the Rajya Sabha, assuming that the nominated members vote in support of the NDA nominee, which has an adequate strength of 240. So, overall, the ruling alliance has the support of 422 members in both the houses as against the requirement of 394. Among the frontrunners from the NDA camp is Harivansh Narayan Singh, a Janata Dal (United) MP who has been the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman since 2020. Harivansh has been temporarily filling the role of Rajya Sabha chair until the election of the next Vice President of India. In the 2020 Deputy Speaker Elections, Harivansh defeated Opposition candidate and RJD leader Manoj Jha. Nitish Kumar's name has also been floating around for the post. However, the JD-U chief will have to leave the CM chair, months before the elections, so Kumar seems an unlikely candidate. Yet, NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha suggested that Nitish Kumar step down as CM to make way for the next generation. Manoj Sinha will complete five years as the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir this August, fuelling speculation about his candidature as Vice President. Sinha is a former MP, Union minister and an old BJP hand from Uttar Pradesh's Purvanchal region. Two Union Ministers — Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister JP Nadda — have also been suggested as contenders. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has also emerged as a contender for some. To be a VP, Tharoor, who has an uneasy relationship with the Congress party, will have to leave his Lok Sabha MP seat. Dhankhar's abrupt resignation has set off a wave of speculation about his potential successor. Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan is also counted in the list. A former Congress and Janata Dal MP, Khan left the Congress in 1986 over the Shah Bano case. Before Bihar, he was Governor of Kerala. Well, all these are speculations. Who knows, like in the past, the BJP will come up with a surprise pick. Until then, more names will be added to the list of frontrunners for Vice President of India.
New Indian Express
22 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Parliament likely to hold discussion on Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor next week
Amid opposition protests bringing the Parliament to a standstill for three consecutive days after the beginning of the Monsoon session on Monday, both the Houses are likely to hold a 16-hour debate each on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor early next week, reported PTI. According to the report citing sources, Lok Sabha will begin the discussion on July 28 and the Rajya Sabha a day later if there are no disruptions. The decisions were taken at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meetings on July 21 and 23 as the opposition has been insisting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak on Operation Sindoor and the alleged security lapses during the Pahalgam terror attack. The government however, the sources said, has made no commitment on the opposition's demand for the prime minister's response but has cited its proposal for a parliamentary discussion next week on the ground that Modi will be back by then from his four-day foreign visit, for which he left on Wednesday. The government has also given no assurance regarding any discussion on other issues raised by the opposition, including the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
