BJP mantri apologises for remark on cancer
Facing flak over his remarks that life- threatening diseases like cancer are the karmic outcome of past sins, Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday offered an apology to cancer patients while alleging that there was a political conspiracy behind the distortion of his remarks.
A Muslim MP from the state had sought an apology from Mr Sarma for misquoting the Holy Quran even as the minister was sharply criticised by political rivals and mediapersons for describing cancer as a form of “divine justice”.
“It is written in Gita that Hindus suffer because of karmic deficiency. In Quran it is written that one will suffer for one’s sins in the same lifetime and in the Gita it is written that human beings have to go through sufferings because of last life karmic deficiency,” he had told reporters after his remark kicked up a storm.
Mr Sarma, in a written statement on Thursday, said, “My speech on divine justice and karmic deficiency is being quoted out of context. In their bid to trivialise and sensationalise, no one is looking at the content of my whole speech and intent. It was said in the context of helping poor students of
government schools and request teachers not to neglect them. It was also a message to district education officers not to harass teachers.”
Mr Sarma added, “A philosophical discourse designed purely to help poor students is being misused and which, in turn, is causing avoidable anxiety among surviving cancer patients and their close ones. I still believe, divine justice will catch up with each and every one of us for trying to cash in on someone else’s pain to gain political mileage and cheap publicity.”
Also taking to Twitter, he said, “I am pained at the unpleasant controversy created by people wanting to derive political mileage out of it. I tender my apology to all patients and their families who may have been hurt by this.”
Justifying his remark in his written statement, the minister said.
“I lost my father, best friends and relatives to cancer. And everyone in Assam and outside know my passion to work on containing cancer through best possible cancer treatment facilities.”
He also denied that he was trying to spread superstition. “While I am not against science, I strongly believe there is strong merit in spirituality and teachings contained in Bhagwad Gita as well as those of our ancestors.”
Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, All India United Democratic Front ( AIUDF) leader and MP from Assam, had attacked the minister in a tweet saying, “Height of stupidity!”
“While clarifying, the minister said that he took the reference from the teachings of Bhagwad Gita, also said that such thing is mentioned in the Holy Quran. I have limited knowledge about Bhagwad Gita, but I can responsibly say that no such thing is mentioned in the Holy Quran. He should apologise to the Muslim community.” The AIUDF leader said that the health minister made the remark to cover up his failure to control the spread of cancer in the state. “He has given up, he can’t control it,” he said.
Mr Sarma, responding to journalists including Rajdeep Sardesai on Twitter, had repeatedly said that he was quoting the Bhagwad Gita.
Mr Sarma’s controversial remark had earlier started trending on social media after former Union minister, P. Chidambaram tweeted, “That is what switching parties does to a person.”
Mr Sarma was in the Congress before joining the BJP in 2015.