Guwahati, Nov 22
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]A[/dropcap]ssam Governor P B Acharya’s open invitation to persecuted Hindus, or all persons of Indian origins, to seek refuge in the poll-bound state has sparked a major uproar with the state Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi accusing him of indulging in politics of the Sangh parivar and seeking his recall.
The Governor’s statement welcoming ‘persecuted’ Hindus came a day after he stoked a similar controversy by saying that `Hindustan is for Hindus’ and “Muslims in India are free to go anywhere….If they want to go to Pakistan, Bangladesh, they are free to go.”
The Governor’s back-to-back statements have enraged the political parties in Assam who feel he was acting to a script prepared by the BJP with an eye on polarizing voters for the upcoming state assembly polls.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]”H[/dropcap]industan is for Hindus. There is nothing wrong with that. Hindus from different countries can stay here. They cannot be outsiders,” the Governor reportedly said at a book launch function on Saturday. Clarifying his statement on Sunday, the Governor said he intended to convey that all Indian-origin people persecuted in any foreign lands were welcome in the country.
“All religious communities are persecuted but Hindus have a right to come over. If a Muslim is persecuted, he can go to Pakistan or to any other country, I don’t know where he can go, but Hindus have no other place.” The Governor was addressing a press conference at Raj Bhavan.
“Any Hindus persecuted in Bangladesh, have a right to come to India and we have a duty to receive them…Any religious person, including Muslim, if he’s persecuted in Bangladesh, they were all Indians earlier. Hinduism is a religion, Indian Hindus a nationality.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]”I[/dropcap]f a Hindu from Europe, who is a convert from Hare Krishna movement, he’s persecuted…They don’t have a right to come over here…Had it been Hindustan for Hindus only. Persecuted Hindus from anywhere, they have a right and we have a duty to give them shelter. Persecuted Hindus have no option for them, otherwise they’ll die. Do you want them to die there?” Acharya said.
On whether Muslims persecuted in Bangladesh are also welcome, he said “Why not? Taslima Nasreen has come to India…Originally Bangladesh was part of India and the people were Indian. But during partition, Indian Muslims went to Pakistan.”
“India has a big heart. India is the most tolerant country in the world,” the Governor said, adding, “but Hindus originating in other countries had no right to come to India.
“American Hindus or British Hindus or Hindus in other nations…They can go to their own countries. I am talking about those people who were originally from India,” he added.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]T[/dropcap]he Congress accused the governor of indulging in politics of the BJP and the RSS and Tarun Gogoi demanded his recall. “The Governor has lost the ability to work as the constitutional head of the state. Instead of working as a constitutional head, he is working rather as a RSS Pracharak,’ Gogoi said in a statement, adding, “I do not know why the Central government had not appointed a permanent Governor in Assam. But he is allowed to remain as Assam Governor during the next year’s assembly polls, he would work as a BJP member and an RSS Pracharak”.
“I appeal to the Centre to appoint a different person with a broader outlook and mindset as Assam Governor for the sake of development in Assam,” the Chief Minister said.
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