Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has stated that over 600 madarsas have been shut down in the state because his government believes in establishing universities, schools and colleges rather than funding religious institutions. He was addressing a rally at Belgavi’s Shivaji Maharaj Garden in poll-bound Karnataka, on Thursday.
He asserted that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh pose a threat to the civilization and culture of the northeastern state.
He stated, “People from Bangladesh come to Assam & create a threat to our civilization and culture. I have closed 600 madrassas and I intend to close all madrassas because we do not want madrassas. We want schools, colleges and universities. The new India does not need madrasas.”
Last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader emphasised that Assam has turned into a hub of ‘jihadi operations’ after five ‘jihadi’ modules with connections to Al Qaida-affiliated terror outfits in Bangladesh were busted in the state.
He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for restoring temples and denounced Congress for attempting to undermine the nation. “Once upon a time, the ruler of Delhi used to talk about demolishing temples but today under PM Modi’s rule, I am talking about building temples. This is new India. Congress is working to weaken this new India.”
He also called out the grand old party for its objection to Ram mandir in Ayodhya. “When Ram mandir is built, they (Congress) have a problem. Congress is representing the new Mughals today.”
He spoke against the domination of Mughal empire in Indian history. “The Congress and Communists showed that India’s history was all about Babur, Aurangzeb, and Shahjahan.” He added, “I want to tell that India’s history was not about them but about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Guru Gobind Singh.”
The CM shed light on historical events and remarked that continuous effort was made to annihilate the ‘Sanatan culture’ under Aurangzeb’s reign. “Many people were forcefully converted to Islam. At that time Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj took birth and he showed that Bharat Mata can give birth to a son like him who can challenge Aurangzeb.”
Referring to India as ‘Hindu,’ he proclaimed, “Aurangzeb was not able to destroy our ‘Sanatan’ culture. Today India is ‘Sanatan’ and ‘Hindu’ and will continue to remain so.”
He accused communist historians of attempting to prove that Mughals ruled over all of India. “It was not true that Aurangzeb had captured entire India.” He mentioned, that the Mughal emperor never had control over South India or the North East.