Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has denied remarks attributed to him that the State is becoming “another Kashmir” and that he has sought help from the RSS to tackle the situation.
Mr. Sarma, who had visited the Cachar district headquarters of the RSS at Silchar last week, maintained that he had not discussed politics with the organisation as it is “fully aware” of the situation in Assam as well as in the northeast region.
“Should I lecture RSS about what is going on (in Assam)? They know about the situation in Assam and the northeast,” Mr. Sarma told reporters before winding up his three-day visit to Silchar on Monday.
“We don’t discuss politics with the RSS,” he added.
Mr. Sarma, a senior BJP leader, however, did not elaborate on the present situation is in the State or in the region.
On his visit to the RSS office at Silchar on Saturday, the first day of his tour, Mr. Sarma said that he had gone there as a ‘ swayam sevak ’ (volunteer) and had left after some tea and breakfast.
Reports in a section of the media had said that the Assam Chief Minister was closetted in a meeting with RSS functionaries during the visit to the organisation’s district headquarters and had reportedly sought its help to ‘protect the interests of the people of Assam’.
The reports said that Mr. Sarma had also expressed apprehension that Assam will become another Kashmir if steps are not taken fast to protect the State, which was strongly refuted by the Chief Minister.
He had reportedly said ‘aggression’ is threatening to change the State’s picture with a section of the people from outside the State grabbing land and the grassroot level reach of the RSS could help the government in this regard, media reports had said.
Mr. Sarma had also reportedly said at the RSS office that the National Register of Citizens and Citizenship Amendment Act are not against the people of the State, the media reports had said.
