'Prioritise Education or Ajmal's People Will Take All Seats,' Says Himanta Biswa

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

(Photo:Twitter/@himantabiswa)

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday, 23 June, said that if education isn't prioritised, all the medical and engineering seats in the state would be dominated by "Ajmal's people," as per The Indian Express.

The CM was reportedly making a reference to the coaching institutes of Ajmal Foundation, which is run by All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal.

"If it continues this way, Assam's medical and engineering seats will be taken by who? Ajmal's people. We have no objection to them studying and taking the seats. Take 20-30%. But if they take all, it will hurt us, won't it?"

Himanta Biswa Sarma, as per The Indian Express

He went on to add that a conducive environment must be created for education in Assam so that such instances can be avoided. "Tribal, non-tribal, indigenous Hindus and Muslims, everybody's issues we have tried to address. There is no need to do any movement for them… We need only one movement in Assam, that is education," he said.

Sarma, who was addressing a public meeting in Lakhimpur, was bolstering the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier on Friday, the BJP leader courted controversy by responding to a journalist's tweet about former United States President Barack Obama, saying:

"There are many Hussain Obama in India itself. We should prioritize taking care of them before considering going to Washington. The Assam police will act according to our own priorities."

The journalist who was referring to Obama's recent interview with CNN – during which he had remarked about minority rights in India – tweeted: "Has an FIR been filed in Guwahati yet against Obama for hurting sentiment? Is Assam police on it's way to Washington to get Obama offloaded from some flight and arrest him?"