BJP against Muslim men having multiple wives: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
Morigaon (Assam), Dec 8: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said his party was against men from the Muslim community having multiple wives.
Launching a scathing attack on Lok Sabha MP Badruddin Ajmal, Sarma said women can give birth to "20-25 children" as per the AIUDF chief's reported advice but all their future expenses on food, clothes and education will have to be borne by the opposition leader.
"There cannot be any right to a man living in independent India to marry three-four women (without divorcing the previous spouse). We want to change such a system. We will have to work to give justice to Muslim women," the chief minister said at an official function here.
"We want 'sabka saath sabka vikas'. If there are doctors from Assamese Hindu families, there should be doctors from Muslim families as well. Many MLAs don't give such advice because they need the votes of 'Pomuwa' Muslims," Sarma said.
Bengali-speaking Muslims originating from East Bengal or present-day Bangladesh are colloquially called 'Pomuwa Muslims' in Assam.
Speaking about Ajmal's controversial comments on women, the chief minister said, "In Assam, we have some leaders like Badruddin Ajmal. They say women must give birth to children as soon as possible because that is a fertile land."
A woman's childbirth process cannot be compared with a field, he added.
"I have repeatedly said that our women can give birth to 20-25 children, but their food, clothes, education and all other expenses will have to be borne by Ajmal. Then, we don't have any problem," Sarma said.
If the perfume baron-turned-Lok Sabha MP does not give the expenses of the children, then nobody has the right to lecture on childbirth, he added.
Sarma further said that a family should give birth to only those many children whom they can provide food, clothes and education to make them better human beings.
"Our government's policy is clear. We work for the indigenous people, but we want progress for all. We don't want the students of Muslims, especially the 'Pomuwa' Muslims, to study in madrassas and become 'Janab' and 'Imam'," he added.
The BJP-led government wants all Muslim children to get admitted to general schools and colleges to become doctors and engineers.
Ajmal, in an interview with a media house on December 2, had commented on women and Hindu men as well as Sarma, purportedly as a response to the chief minister's remarks on 'Love Jihad'.
The Dhubri MP, who is revered as a 'Maulana', reportedly advised Hindus to marry young to produce more children like Muslims.
As the comments led to a backlash, the MP apologised the next day and said he was "ashamed" of the controversy it stoked. He, however, maintained that his comments were twisted and he had not targeted any community.
The chief minister also said, "I am very concerned about Al-Qaeda links to a madrassa in Morigaon. We can't transform the district into a base for Al-Qaeda.
"We all will have to stay away from communalism and religious fundamentalism for the progress of Morigaon district," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
