New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised for the incorrect translation of a 'shloka' from the Bhagavad Gita which had created a row. Mr Sarma's post on X had landed him in the crosshairs of the Opposition with several leaders accusing him of promoting caste divisions.
In his apology, Mr Sarma said that the verse had been posted on his X account by his team to keep up his tradition of sharing one Gita 'shloka' daily with his followers.
"As a routine I upload one sloka of Bhagavad Gita every morning on my social media handles. Till date, I have posted 668 slokas. Recently one of my team members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation," Mr Sarma said on Thursday.
The BJP leader said he deleted the tweet as soon as he noticed the mistake.
"As soon as I noticed the mistake, I promptly deleted the post. If the deleted post has offended anyone, I sincerely apologize," he said.
The post which sparked a political row had incorrectly said that according to the Gita, it is the duty of the Shudras to serve the other three castes - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi had launched a sharp attack on Mr Sarma saying that he was not fulfilling his oath of treating every Indian citizen equally.
"In a recently deleted post, Assam CM elaborated on his vision of society. “…farming, cow rearing, and commerce are natural duties of the Vaishya and serving the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras.” Holding a constitutional position, your oath is to treat every citizen equally. It's reflected in the unfortunate cruelty that Assam's Muslims have faced in the past few years. Hindutva is antithetical to Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice," Mr Owaisi said on X (formerly Twitter).
Himanta Sarma in his apology post also said that Assam was the picture of a casteless society and the incorrect translation was a mistake.