- Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma denied allowing hate speech during Assam's campaign phase
- Sarma emphasized concerns over Assam's demographic changes and identity protection
- NDA received broad support, including young voters, contributing to BJP's electoral success, Sarma said
A day after the BJP scored a hat-trick in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has denied claims that he allowed hate speech during the campaign phase in the state bordering Bangladesh.
"There was no hate speech in Assam," Sarma, who is often called the BJP's northeast strategist, told NDTV Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal today.
"If you take my speech to be hate speech, then you have to know that I always think before I give any speech. Whatever I say, there is no question of backtracking. Whatever I say in my speech, I stand by it," Sarma said.
His party comfortably won the Assam election, winning 82 seats, against the Congress's 19 in the 126-seat assembly. The BJP had campaigned hard on identifying illegal immigrants in the state long known for tension over demography.
Sarma told NDTV his campaign was not at all divisive, but that many observers do not understand Assam's realities.
"The people of Assam are in a very big problem. We are worried about our identity, our future. We are losing the demographic battle fast. Assam will have 40 per cent Muslim population in this census. We have become complete minorities in 12-13 districts," Sarma said, adding these are the main reasons why the people voted for the BJP.
"People want to protect our identity... Our doubts and fears are different from that of the rest of the country. This is not a victory. This is another chapter in the war that is going on in Assam," Sarma said.
The recommendations of the Justice Biplab Sharma committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which deals with constitutional safeguards for the indigenous Assamese population, were implemented by his government, Sarma said.
"It was because of it that the Assamese people won yesterday. It was not just a BJP victory."
The chief minister said the NDA got the support of all sections of people, including Gen Z, which was evident in the young faces fielded by the BJP emerging victorious.
On the Opposition side, the Congress and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal were part of a six-party alliance that fought the election together. Congress won 19 seats, Raijor Dal two, and the other allies none.
