Guwahati, June 18: Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, denouncing his recent remarks on cow slaughter and temple desecration as “poisonous” and deeply offensive to Hindu sentiments.
Speaking to reporters in Guwahati, Sarma alleged that Gandhi’s comments reflect a “deep-rooted bias” and were deliberately designed to provoke communal discord. “This shows Rahul Gandhi’s typical mindset,” Sarma said. “If Hindus were to dump meat, it would be pork, not beef. Why would we use beef? These kinds of remarks expose his poisonous thinking.”
The chief minister was reacting to allegations reportedly made by a Congress functionary that implied Hindu groups may have been involved in the recent desecration of religious sites in Assam. Sarma said such suggestions were not only baseless but dangerously inflammatory.
“If a cow’s head was found in a temple, where is the rest of the body?” he asked. “Is Rahul Gandhi suggesting that Hindus butcher cows, leave the head in temples, and eat the rest? This is a vile distortion and completely unacceptable.”
He further claimed that in the case of a recent incident in Dhubri district — where a cow’s head was found in a sensitive area, sparking communal tensions — all arrested individuals belonged to a particular community. “Instead of condemning this act, Rahul Gandhi’s puppets are making claims that Hindus were behind it. This narrative is meant to create division,” Sarma said.
Updating on police action, Sarma said more than 30 people have been arrested in the Dhubri incident, while five individuals were held in Lakhimpur for placing cow heads in front of a Namghar (Vaishnavite prayer hall). “The matter is serious, but I believe it will be resolved in a day or two,” he added.
