Assam Chief Minister Himant Biswa Sarma on Wednesday claimed that the Muslim population in his state has now risen to 40 per cent, contending that demographic change is a “big issue” in the northeastern state.

Sarma, who is also the BJP’s Jharkhand election co-in charge, made the comments on the sidelines of a party meeting here.

“I come from Assam and demographic change is a big issue for me. Muslim population in my state is 40 per cent now, which was 12 per cent in 1951. It is not a political issue for me, but a matter of life and death,” he told reporters.

Earlier, addressing party workers, he alleged that the number of Bangladeshi infiltrators is rising in tribal areas of Jharkhand.

The BJP would include a strong action plan against infiltrators in its manifesto for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly election, he said.

In a scathing attack on Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Sarma accused him of turning Jharkhand into a “mini-Bangladesh”.

“The infiltrators come to Jharkhand and marry tribal girls to grab their land. I call for a law in Jharkhand that should have a provision that tribal girls cannot marry infiltrators,” he said.

He also alleged that no development took place during the regime of the JMM-led alliance government.

“In past five years, no university or engineering college opened in the state. Development work came to a halt. Youths were neither given jobs nor unemployment allowances,” he claimed.

Sarma said that the NDA won nine out of 14 seats in Jharkhand, and took lead in 51 assembly segments in the Lok Sabha polls.

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