'Are wombs of our mothers farmlands?': Himanta Biswa Sarma slams Badruddin Ajmal over his 'Hindus should marry young' remark

New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday (December 5, 2022) hit out at AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal over his remarks on women and the Hindu community and said a mother's womb cannot be viewed as a "farm land". The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also urged Muslim women not to be "swayed" by statements of "people like Ajmal" who ask them to bear more children. Sarma, who was repling to Ajmal's comments at a public meeting in Bongaigaon, which is located near Dhubri which the AIUDF president represents in the Lok Sabha, asked Muslim women to limit their families to two children to provide them with a good education. He said that people, especially women of the Muslim community, should not be "swayed by people who need them for their votes".

"I don't need your votes, but don't listen to Ajmal. Don't have more than two children so that you can bring them up to be top players, doctors, and engineers," he said while referring to Muslim women.

"People like Ajmal thought that education, development will not reach lower Assam areas like Bongaigaon and Dhubri and were trying to convince women of these places that they were child-bearing factories," Sarma said.

"Ajmal said that 'seeds should be sown on fertile land'. I ask him are the wombs of our mothers farmlands?" Sarma quipped.

"We shouldn't listen to them (Ajmal and his ilk) and should concentrate on the wellbeing of our children," the Assam chief minister added.

Last week, Badruddin Ajmal had told news agency ANI that Hindus should marry young to produce more children like Muslims. As the comments were denounced and complaints were lodged with the police across Assam, he apologised the next day and said he was 'ashamed' of the controversy it stoked. He, however, also said that his comments were twisted and he had not targeted any community.

#WATCH | Hindus should follow the Muslim formula of getting their girls married at 18-20 years, says AIUDF President & MP, Badruddin Ajmal. pic.twitter.com/QXIMrFu7g8 — ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2022

Continuing his attack on the AIUDF chief, Sarma also said that "Ajmal has no right to tell our women how many children they should have. If he does so, he (Ajmal) will have to take the responsibility of the children".

"If he is willing to pay for their upbringing, I will ask everyone to have 10-12 children," Sarma said.

He also spoke of the problems faced by the poor Bengali-speaking Muslims living in the 'char' (riverine) areas in bringing up their children, especially in educating them and keeping away malnutrition.

"After seeing their (stricken) faces, one cannot go home and sleep in peace. I request our Muslim community women to have only so many children whom they can educate to become doctors or engineers and not junabs or imams (Muslim religious leaders)," the BJP leader said.

Live: Foundation laying ceremony of various schemes at Bongaigaon https://t.co/POiNzrtmzJ — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) December 5, 2022

On Ajmal's jibe that Hindus have fewer children as they start their families at a much later age than Muslims, the chief minister said that it ensures that Hindu children are well educated.

Sarma also urged the people to refrain from communal politics and instead engage in the politics of development for the growth and development of the state.

(With inputs from PTI)