Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Responds to Allegations, Says He Will Ban Beef if Congress Requests

GUWAHATI: In a forthright statement on November 30, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma revealed he would ban beef throughout Assam if Congress leader Bhupen Kumar Borah made a formal request in writing to do so.

The statement appears at a time when controversy and allegations abound that BJP, Assam, has taken controversial steps, that too by holding a "beef party," and succeeded in gaining the sympathies of the minority voters with an eye on the results in Samaguri.

Speaking to reporters after the party meeting, CM Sarma addressed the electoral outcome in Samaguri, a constituency that was under Congress control for the last 25 years. He said the seat loss with a margin of 27,000 votes was a "big shame" for Congress, going on to say that this loss more reflected on the defeat of Congress than the win of the BJP. The BJP candidate Diplu Ranjan Sarma won the election with a massive 26,200 margin with which he defeated Congress's Tanzil Hussain.

CM Sarma reacted to Congress MP Rakibul Hussain's allegations, which included claims that BJP workers used beef to influence voters. Sarma quoted Hussain's statement, where the MP acknowledged that consuming beef was wrong. Sarma then asked rhetorically whether Congress had also been using beef to secure votes in Samaguri, a place Hussain was familiar with as a former MLA for five terms before his parliamentary career.

Sarma further countered, "If he is genuinely convinced that beef is something wrong, then officially, Congress should be saying the party stands for a complete ban on beef. In case the state Congress president here supports this view, tomorrow, he will come and say let beef be banned in Assam like Hussain has been arguing.".

Sarma was satisfied with Hussain's public admission and urged Bhupen Borah to take the next step by clarifying his position in writing. He added that should the Congress leadership agree, a statewide ban on beef would be implemented, thereby removing the contentious issue from political discussions and preventing any party from using beef as an electoral tool.

This has only added a new layer to the ongoing political discourse in Assam, where religion, culture, and electoral tactics have played a central role in the shaping of politics.

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