Hindus have better lifestyle in Assam due to 'less population': CM Biswa Sarma

DISPUR: Amid the ongoing discussions on a population boom in Assam, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today said the Muslim community has been compelled to take shelter in forest lands whereas their Hindu counterparts are enjoying better lifestyles due to having smaller families.

"Leaving aside politics, you will see that the Hindus in Assam have a much better lifestyle. Everyone has a car or scooter. Their children are becoming doctors, are going outside for employment. You will instantly know when it is a Hindu. If it is a nice building -- it's a Hindu. If it has a nice garden outside -- Hindu!," he said on the Assembly floor today.

On the other hand, Sarma said, overpopulation has driven the Muslims to seek in forests and riverine areas.

"When they go live in forests, there is a conflict with the law. Women who have gone to Kerala for work were forced into prostitution," he added.

Sarma also said that there is no need for a proper survey to prove that Muslims have a larger family and a "house team" will establish that.

He also controversially said that if one goes to the Barpeta Medical Colleges, one is bound to see nurses carrying out newborn children from the delivery chamber.

"The nurses get sweaty from this," he said, drawing large guffaws in the Assembly.

Sarma said that for every 10 Hindus born since 2001, 29 Muslims have also been born in the same time period.

It needs mention here that Biswa Sarma has stirred up a debate after his comments on "population control" among minorities.

Sarma has said the population of the minorities needed to be in check to prevent encroachment and pressure on land resources.

His comments have been condemned as "anti-minority" by the opposition parties -- most notably the Congress and AIUDF.

He later met 150 intellectuals from the Muslim community who he claimed agreed on the need to curb the population growth in some parts of the state as it poses a threat to development.

Today, Biswa Sarma said that his comments are not "anti-minority" and are in fact "anti-poverty."

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