Himanta Biswa Sarma is credited with BJP's turn of fortunes in the north-east.
His former colleagues in the Congress are keeping Assam's health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the BJP on the defensive with tweet barbs since yesterday for saying earlier this week that
"cancer is divine justice for sins." The BJP's star north east strategist is taking on critics tweet for tweet, or even two as he has done with former union minister P Chidambaram.
"By the way sir when did you rejoin @INCIndia ? As per as I know you were in Tamil Maanila Congress. Privileged people can indulged in any activity right from Chit Fund to Inxmedia, can switch party," the Assam leader said this morning in a loaded tweet that includes a reference not only to Mr Chidambaram's eight-year stint out of the Congress but also Pidi, Rahul Gandhi's pet, recently introduced by the Congress vice-president on Twitter.It was Mr Sarma's second response to
Mr Chidambaram's jibe last night when he said, "Cancer is divine justice for sins' says Assam Minister Sharma. That is what switching parties does to a person."
"Sir, please do not distort. Simply I said that Hinduism believe in karmic law and human sufferings are linked to karmic deficiency of past life. Don't you belief that too? Of course in your party I do not know whether Hindu philosophy can be discussed at all (sic)," Mr Sarma had retorted.
Till late on Wednesday night and then early this morning, the 48-year-old Assam minister has countered critics, defending comments he had made while addressing school teachers at a government function in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is a law graduate and has a PhD, was speaking to teachers after handing over appointment letters on Tuesday when he said in Assamese, "God makes us suffer when we sin. Sometimes we come across young men getting inflicted with cancer or young men meeting with accidents. If you observe their background you will come to know that it's divine justice. Nothing else. We have to suffer that divine justice."
He also said, "In this lifetime or in our previous life, or perhaps my father or mother... perhaps that young man did not do anything, but his father has done something wrong... no one can escape divine justice."
Opposition leaders in Assam have accused him gross insensitivity and have demanded that he apologise to cancer patients. Senior Congress leader and former union minister Kapil Sibbal tweeted this morning, "Hemanta Biswa Sarma says that cancer is divine justice for sins committed . That such a person is minister is divine injustice."
Mr Sarma has emphasised that he did not say sin causes cancer, tweeting, This morning the minister explained his robust defence of his comments by saying,"Not arguing with anyone. Only availing a huge opportunity to speek little bit about Hindu philosophy. We accept that even Lord Krishna died because of karmic deficiency. That's is our philosophy."
Himanta Biswa Sarma is credited with the BJP's turn of fortunes in the north-east ever since he quit the Congress and joined the party. He decided to leave the Congress, Mr Sarma has said, after Rahul Gandhi refused to meet him in Delhi, preferring to play with his pet, now identified as Pidi.
Inducted by the BJP months before assembly elections in Assam, Mr Sarma helped the party win power in the state for the first time ever, uprooting his former mentor Congressman Tarun Gogoi, who was chief minister of the state for 15 years.
Since then Mr Sarma has strategically delivered two more north-east states -- Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh -- for the BJP.