Dibrugarh: Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday said Assam faces "threat" from illegal Muslim immigrants and not from Hindu or other minorities facing religious persecution in other countries.
"The growth of Muslim population in the state has registered an alarming rate of 197.39 per cent as compared to the growth of Hindu population to 80.9 per cent during the period 1971 to 2011," The Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports said.
The BJP has always been vigilant to this development and will always strive to ensure that "political power does not pass into the hands of illegal immigrants," he said.
"After the Supreme Court repealed the Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunals (IMDT) Act, 14 religious organisations of this community united to form the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) which has been trying to achieve political power in the state," he said.
The influx of Muslim immigrants and the alarming rise of their population has even threatened the existence of the indigenous Muslims in Assam, the minister said.
The protest against the Centre's decision to provide citizen status to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi and Christian minorities who have entered the country before December 31, 2014 was "motivated and fuelled by the Congress and AIUDF," he said.
"Assam alone does not have to bear the burden of all these minorities but all states will share it," he added.
The BJP government at the Centre is committed to protect the rights and interests of all indigenous population of the state, he added.
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