"90% Assam Congress MLAs Are Descendants Of Bangladeshis": Minister Himanta Sarma

Assam minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma made a sensational claim that 90 per cent of the Congress MLAs in Assam are descendants of Bangladeshi migrants.

"Ninety percent of Congress MLAs are descendants of Bangladeshis. The Congress had made four Arabic college and several madrassas," Mr Sarma said while addressing a rally in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act or the CAA in Dhemaji district on Wednesday.

He further alleged that the leadership of student body Assam Students' Union (AASU), that is spearheading the protests against the citizenship law, is also soft on Bangladeshis.

For weeks, Assam has been in the grip of protests against the government's new citizenship law.

"Himanta Biswa Sarma should prove his allegation or apologise. The predecessors of Congress MLAs have come from what was East Bengal in British India. Therefore, fathers migrated from one British India state to another, which is Asaam. They cannot be called Bangladeshis since their forefathers migrated long before 1971 when Bangladesh was created," Congress leader Debabrata Saikia, who is the leader of the opposition in assembly, told NDTV.

"When you ask AASU to comment on the faults in the citizens' list NRC, they will say it is sub judice in the Supreme Court. Even the Citizenship Amendment Ac (CAA) is sub judice in the Supreme Court. But they have so much to say about the CAA," Mr Sarma said.

The opposition Congress in Assam has said that it will move a  resolution during the special session of the state assembly to ensure that the citizenship law is not implemented in the state.

The citizenship law for the first time makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India because of religious persecution. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.

Recalling his past political experiences, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "When I was in Class 5, I was associated with the Assam agitation. As a youngster, I grew up with this agitation. During the Assam agitation, there was never any pressure and torture done to Congress leaders."

Mr Sarma, who is the finance minister of Assam, hit out at the All Assam Students' Union, saying there were no agitations seen in the hills areas of the state and that tribals were not a part of the protests against the government.