"If Congress Keeps Going Against Hindus...": Himanta Sarma Warns

Criticising state Congress president Bhupen Bora for his comment on the Golaghat triple murder case, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Thursday said that if a police case is filed against him for hurting religious sentiments, he will be arrested.

On Monday, a 25-year-old man killed his wife and her parents over some family issues, and later surrendered before the police in Golaghat district. Mr Sarma has been claiming it was a case of 'love jihad' as the husband was Muslim and the wife a Hindu.

Reacting to it, Mr Bora said, "All is fair in love and war. There are many stories in our ancient texts, including Krishna eloping with Rukmini, and the chief minister should not harp about marriages between people of different religions and communities in today's age."

Mr Sarma said drawing a parallel between 'love jihad' and Lord Krishna and Rukmini's love story is condemnable.

"We do not want to take the step of arresting people but if Lord Krishna is dragged into controversy, several 'sanatani' people will file cases in police stations and then how will I stop the police from taking action?" he said.

"If someone files a case against a person for making such comments, he will be arrested," he said, without naming Mr Bora.

'Love jihad' is a situation when a girl is forced to marry by changing her religion and Krishna did not force Rukmini to change her religion, he said.

The term 'love jihad' is used by right-wing groups to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.

Mr Sarma said "mistakes" committed by human beings should not be compared with Gods, "just as we do not bring in Hazrat Muhammad and Jesus Christ into any controversy".

"I call upon the Congress also not to bring Lord Krishna into any controversy. If the Congress keeps going against the Hindus, their last address will be mosques and madrasas. But maybe they will be removed from there too by the AIUDF, and they will be left with nowhere to go," he said.

Mr Sarma claimed there will be peace in the country if Hindu men marry women of their community, and Muslim men marry women of their community.

"If there arises a situation, where people of two different religions want to marry each other, then there is the Special Marriage Act. Nobody should cross the limits of the law, and force somebody to change their religion," he said.

Mr Sarma said he has grown up worshipping in temples but if he is asked to offer namaz, then he will be hurt.

"Similarly, if someone who offers namaz is asked to worship in temples, he will also feel bad about it," he said.

"We have seen the consequence of 'love jihad' in the triple murder case in Golaghat. There have been many tragic incidents of suicide by girls who have been its victims. I appeal to the young people not to cross the 'Laxman-rekha' in the interest of peace and harmony in our state," he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)