Crucial CM-minority meet on November 5

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Nov 2: State Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal is going to hold a meeting with as many as 35 indigenous religious minority organizations of the State on November 5.

The meeting is thought to be crucial against the backdrop of the threat perception prevailing in the State that the future of all indigenous people of the State will be at stake in the event of Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindus becoming a reality. Such a reality depends on the passage or blockage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016 in Parliament. The minority organizations are of Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, Gorias, Morias, Desis, Maimals, Jhulas and others.

Addressing the media in the city today, State BJP’s Minority Morcha president Mominul Aowal said: “Since independence of India the minorities have been victims of exploitation, especially by the Congress that is still them as vote banks. In Assam, both the Congress and the AIUDF have been using the minorities as their vote banks by creating a threat perception among them. This is the reason why the indigenous minorities in Assam have been lagging behind. The BJP came to the electoral field in Assam in a big way against such a backdrop with its honest-to-goodness policy – sabka ka saath, sabka vikash. Now the minorities in Assam are attracted to the BJP and its government as a mark of honour to this policy. Unlike deception by the Congress and the AIUDF, the BJP has laid stress on actual development of the minorities in the State.”

BJP’s spokesperson Rupam Goswami, who was also present at the press meet, said: “The Congress and the AIUDF are two sides of the same coin. They do politics with the minorities. Earlier the Congress and the AIUDF used to meet in a clandestine way. Now they do meet openly. In the Assam Assembly election, 2016 they fought with a mutual plan, and they’re also going to fight this bye-poll slated to be held on November 19 mutually. By not fielding its own candidate in Lakhimpur Lok Sabha seat which party the AIUDF wants to help is an open secret.”

Morcha’s general secretary Mahiruddin Ahmed and secretary zleen Ahmed were also present at the press meet.