Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday (October 28) claimed that the Muslim population was increasing in Jharkhand due to illegal immigration infiltrating into India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) co-incharge for the Jharkhand assembly elections said, “I am lighting the fire against the infiltrators. Lord Hanuman also set fire to Lanka. We must set fire to the infiltrators and make Jharkhand a golden land.

Sarma alleged that Aadhar cards are being issued to infiltrators through madrassas in Jharkhand and that in Santhal Pargana, the tribal population is decreasing and the Muslim population is increasing.

“Not all Muslims are infiltrators, but how does the Muslim population increase every five years? Does a family give birth to 10 to 12 children? If families do not give birth to that many children, so people definitely come from outside,” he added.

Terming it “mere mathematics”, Sarma accused Chief Minister Hemant Soren of supporting the infiltrators and said, “We will win the elections but that is not the main priority, it is about expelling the infiltrators from Santhal Pargana and get justice for women.”

“Infiltrators will be made to report as per law,” chants of “Jai Shri Ram” rang out as the Assam CM said this. He also promised to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Santhal Pargana to weed out the infiltrators.

Anti-infiltration is the narrative adopted by the BJP for the two-phase assembly elections in Jharkhand, where it is seeking to wrest power from the alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress.