‘Anti-national, eats beef’: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma slams poll rival’s mother

CHief government minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s remarks against Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) prospect Kunki Chowdhury’s fuss o'er alleged boeuf eating and for being “anti-national and anti-Sanatani” have put the young leader in the spotlight ahead of the April 9 assembly polls.On Thursday, Sarma alleged that the candidate’s mother, Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, eats beef, supports anti-nationals and opposes Sanatani traditions, citing her social media posts.“The AJP has fielded a candidate whose mother’s Instagram posts show that she criticises Lord Krishna, openly eats beef, challenging Sanatani people, supports [anti-national] people like [jailed former Jawaharlal Nehru University students] Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid and says that Pakistan is not an enemy nation,” Sarma said on the campaign trail.Kunki Chowdhury dismissed Sarma’s claims as completely baseless and added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accepted defeat in her Central Guwahati constituency by levelling such charges. “It has been just 15 days since I entered politics and the love and support I have received from people in Central Guwahati and the rest of Assam in such a short span shows that they [BJP] are scared,” Kunki Chowdhury said in a video posted on social media. “With the chief minister taking my name, the whole of India will now know who Kunki Chowdhury is.”Kunki Chowdhury, a University College London alumna and born in one of Assam’s prominent business families, is fighting against BJP’s Vijay Gupta. Before the 2023 delimitation, the seat was known as West Guwahati, and represented by BJP ally, AGP.Sujata Gurung Chowdhury echoed the daughter and urged the BJP to fact check before making such comments. She rejected the allegations of supporting “anti-national elements” and underlined that her grandfather, Ari Bahadur Gurung, was a signatory to the Constitution as a representative of the Gorkha community. “It is my daughter who is contesting the election as per her own choice. I wonder why the chief minister is dragging common people like us into such false accusations. They should have checked the contents on social media, which they are pointing out, before making the allegations.”The AJP, part of the Congress-led six-party alliance, said Sarma’s comments raised questions over the BJP’s slogan of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ (protect, empower the girl child). It added that the people of Assam will see through this political conspiracy and give a befitting answer.AJP chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi said Sarma targeting their candidate’s mother showed desperation. “Instead of addressing problems like artificial flooding in Central Guwahati, he is bringing religion, food habits and Pakistan into the debate,” he said.