Oppn reaction would have been different if comments were against another religion, says Assam CM on Sanatan row

Sarma dubs Rahul Gandhi "chunavi Hindu", claims INDIA would have reacted differently if remarks were made against another religion.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday dubbed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as a "chunavi Hindu" (Hindu for election purposes) and claimed the reaction of the opposition bloc INDIA would have been different if remarks were made against another religion instead of Sanatan Dharma.

Recently, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and A. Raja had claimed Sanatan Dharma had sown divisions in society and must be eradicated on the lines of diseases like dengue, malaria and coronavirus.

Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' event in Narsinghpur district, Sarma said Sanatan Dharma has existed over the past 5000 years because of the penance of several crore people.

"Sanatan Dharma will remain till the existence of sun and moon. Hindus are tolerant. The Congress and INDIA bloc are terming it (anti Sanatan Dharma statements) as freedom of expression. But if someone had commented about Muslims then he would have been expelled overnight by the Congress and its allies," Mr. Sarma claimed.

The BJP doesn't want anyone to speak against Muslims but they (opposition parties) must also not speak against Sanatan Dharma and Hindus, the Assam chief minister asserted.

"We respect all religions and believe in sarva dharma sambhaav (amity among all religions)," he said.

Mocking Rahul Gandhi, Sarma asked the gathering if they had seen the Congress leader visiting temples during the campaign for the 2018 Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls.