'In 1951, Muslim population was...': Asaduddin Owaisi counters Himanta on demographic change in Assam

AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday countered Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his claim on the rising Muslim population in Assam. On Wednesday, Sarma triggered a debate when he said the Muslim population in Assam had shot up to 40 per cent from 12 per cent in 1951. Owaisi, however, said that the Assam chief was lying as he claimed the Muslim population was 24.68 per cent in 1951. 

"In 1951, the Muslim population was 24.68 per cent. He (Himanta) is a liar, and he hates Muslims of Assam.  In 1951, there was Assam...Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya were not there," the AIMIM chief said. 

Owaisi further said that in 2001, the Muslim population was 30.92 per cent and in the 2011 census, 34.22 per cent. "Due to his lies, the entire administration hates the Muslims," he claimed. 

Himant Biswa Sarma on Wednesday claimed that the Muslim population in his state had now risen to 40 per cent, contending that demographic change is a “big issue” in the northeastern state. Sarma, who is also the BJP's Jharkhand election co-in charge, made the comments on the sidelines of a party meeting in Ranchi. 

"I come from Assam and demographic change is a big issue for me. Muslim population in my state is 40 per cent now, which was 12 per cent in 1951. It is not a political issue for me, but a matter of life and death," he told reporters. 

Earlier in the day, addressing party workers, he alleged that the number of Bangladeshi infiltrators was rising in tribal areas of Jharkhand. The BJP would include a strong action plan against infiltrators in its manifesto for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly election, he said. 

Himanta launched a scathing attack on Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and accused him of turning Jharkhand into a "mini-Bangladesh". "The infiltrators come to Jharkhand and marry tribal girls to grab their land. I call for a law in Jharkhand that should have a provision that tribal girls cannot marry infiltrators," he said.