Assam govt rejects Congress' proposal to set up museum for Muslims living in Char Anchal

GUWAHATI

The Education and Finance Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday, rejected the Congress' proposal to set up a museum for the Muslims living in Char anchal (riverine area) of the state.

“In my understanding, there is no separate identity-and culture in Char Anchal of Assam as most of the people had migrated from Bangladesh. Obviously, in Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakhetra, which is the epitome of Assamese culture, we will not allow any distortion. Sorry MLA Sahab,” he said in a tweet.

Congress MLA from Baghbar constituency (under Barpeta district), Sherman Ali Ahmed, last week proposed the Assam government to establish the museum for the Muslims living in Char-Chaporis (Riverine Islands) of the state at the famed Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati.

Meanwhile, Congress' Lok Sabha member from Barpeta Abdul Khaleque strongly supported the proposal and criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for rejecting the proposal.

"Sorry Sir@himantabiswa, Ancestors of these people migrated from erstwhile Bengal, which was an integral part of undivided India. Kindly don't distort history more just for the sake of getting power," Khaleque said in a tweet.