Assam chief minister apologies for his 'Brahmin-Shudra' post on social media
Guwahati: After a controversy, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has apologised for his social media post in which, referring a verse from the Bhagavad Gita he wrote that serving the Brahmins, Ksatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras.
Mr Sarma in a post on X and Facebook clarified that he uploads one verse of Bhagavad Gita every morning on his social media handles, which have posted 668 Slokas till date.
"Recently one of my team members posted a sloka from Chapter 18 verse 44 with an incorrect translation. As soon as I noticed the mistake, I promptly deleted the post... If the deleted post has offended anyone, I sincerely apologise," he said.
The chief minister’s post on twitter, which he said has now been deleted, sparked a row as the opposition leaders denounced "BJP's manuvadi ideology". AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that Hindutva is antithetical to liberty, equality, fraternity and justice. "It's reflected in the unfortunate cruelty that Assam's Muslims have faced in the past few years," Mr Owaisi said.
"In a recently deleted post, Assam CM elaborated on his vision of society. '…farming, cow rearing, and commerce are natural duties of the Vaishya and serving the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas is the natural duty of the Shudras.'
Holding a constitutional position, your oath is to treat every citizen equally. It’s reflected in the unfortunate cruelty that Assam’s Muslims have faced in the past few years. Hindutva is antithetical to Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Justice," said Mr Owaisi.
Congress leader Pawan Khera asked whether the PM and the President agreed with Himanta Biswa's castesist comments. "And then if you say something to him, he will send his cops. But such stupid comments cannot be ignored. Do @rashtrapatibhvn and @PMOIndia agree with @himantabiswa’s casteist comments?" he said.
The chief minister in his clarification also asserted that Assam reflects a "perfect picture" of a casteless society due to the reform movement led by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva.
On December 26, Mr Sarma had uploaded an audio-visual post on his social media handles like twitter and Facebook that he claimed to be from Sloka 44 of Sanyas Yoga from the 18th chapter of Gita.
