‘Not anti-Muslim, but enemies of State need to be identified’

A former president of the All Assam Students’ Union forged in the fire of jatiyatabadi (Assamese nationalism), Sarbananda Sonowal’s political graph began rising after he played a major role in getting the allegedly pro-foreigners Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act scrapped. His five years at the helm of a BJP-led alliance government largely escaped corruption charges but it faced challenges such as the publication of the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The 59-year-old bachelor is seeking re-election from Majuli, an “island” Assembly constituency. Excerpts:

It is a myth that the BJP is anti-Muslim. We strongly believe in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s credo of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas’ (development for all, gaining everyone’s trust). Nobody has been deprived of any scheme. Benefits have reached every household irrespective of religion, caste and creed because we have upheld the spirit of democracy and the principle of secularism. But we have to identify the enemies of Assam. We will never allow certain forces that are a threat to the nation to raise their heads, threaten relationships, art, culture, land, language. They are making a mountain out of a molehill called CAA. Some elements spun a web of lies around CAA to fulfil their selfish interests. Some said CAA will bring in 1 crore (Hindu Bangladeshis), some said 2 crore. But their lies were exposed in time. The people saw through that and gave us a clear mandate in the panchayat polls (December 2018), the tribal council polls (January 2019) and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. People know CAA does not harm the country’s integrity. And we are not the first to amend it. Congress did it too.