Guwahati: Making a controversial statement, Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday that once the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed, no person of a non-Muslim faith will be sent to detention camps made for illegal foreigners. Sarma is a key BJP leader in the Northeast. He told this to reporters while addressing a press conference in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Indian Express quoted Sarma as saying, “After the CAB is passed, Assam detention camps will be shut for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians. Regarding the other population, it is for the court to take a call. Detention camps are there because of a court order, not because the state government wants them.”
Assam has six detention centres currently and the seventh centre, exclusively for detaining “illegal foreigners”, is under construction in Goalpara district. More than 1000 people are currently lodged in the detention centres.
On West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to both the CAB and detention centres, the BJP minister sought her clarification on a public platform what exactly she wants. He said Mamata told that she support CAB if Muslims are also included. He asked her to say that openly.