<p>Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified on Thursday that his&nbsp;tweet &#39;cancer divine justice for our sins&#39; was misconstrued, and that it was meant to motivate teachers and serve the poor.</p>

<p>The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader took to Twitter to offer an explanation after he was slammed by Congress leaders and other prominent personalities on the social media platform.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a series of tweets, Sarma wrote&nbsp;in his defence:&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Go through my speech. I never said that sin cause cancer.it was a speech to motivate teacher. Serve poor or otherwise, you may face karmic deficiency and suffer in next life. Science can not promote human value. Religion might. Good night.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Go through my speech. I never said that sin cause cancer.it was a speech to motivate teacher.serve poor or otherwise you may face karmic deficiency and suffer in next <a href="https://t.co/H4KfY7M9HQ">https://t.co/H4KfY7M9HQ</a> can not promote human value.religion might.good night <a href="https://t.co/YTxbCZZnD9">https://t.co/YTxbCZZnD9</a></p>
&mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/933417370785157120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Not arguing with anyone. Only availing a huge opportunity to speak a little bit about Hindu philosophy. We accept that even Lord Krishna died because of karmic deficiency. That&rsquo;s is our philosophy.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Not arguing with anyone. Only availing a huge opportunity to speek little bit about Hindu philosophy. We accept that even Lord Krishna died because of karmic deficiency. That&rsquo;s is our philosophy <a href="https://t.co/7Cpec6Kioq">https://t.co/7Cpec6Kioq</a></p>
&mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/933529084126097408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;You have to realise the difference between sin and karma. Politics can come and go. But what is written on Bhagavadgita, is for me the final truth.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">You have to realise difference between sin and karma.politics can come and go. But what is written on Bhagavadgita,is for me the final truth <a href="https://t.co/pxb3qB8MF4">https://t.co/pxb3qB8MF4</a></p>
&mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/933558907317846016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Sir, please do not distort. Simply I said that Hinduism believe in karmic law and human sufferings are linked to the karmic deficiency of past life.Don&rsquo;t you belief that too? Of course in your party, I do not know whether Hindu philosophy can be discussed at all&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sir, please do not distort. Simply I said that Hinduism believe in karmic law and human sufferings are linked to karmic deficiency of past life.Don&rsquo;t you belief that too?Of course in your party I do not know whether Hindu philosophy can be discussed at all <a href="https://t.co/P7CMBIRCYQ">https://t.co/P7CMBIRCYQ</a></p>
&mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/933365188140580864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Do not belittle Hindu philosophy in such simplistic way. If you call me anytime to your studio, I will argue with you that karmic law do exist. You can not written of teachings of Bhagavadgita by using the word pumpkin of the day etc&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Do not belittle Hindu philosophy in such simplistic way. If you call me anytime to your studio,I will argue with you that karmic law do exist. You can not written of teachings of Bhagavadgita by using the word pumpkin of the day etc <a href="https://t.co/wpKz7rpLYn">https://t.co/wpKz7rpLYn</a></p>
&mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/933396141739196416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Should I deserve this tweet for quoting Bhagavadgita before a new batch of teachers and asking them to teach poor students sincerely. I do not know when quoting Hindu philosophy to inspire a batch of teachers suddenly become a sin in this country&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Should I deserve this tweet for quoting Bhagavadgita before a new batch of teachers and asking them to teach poor students sincerely. I do not know from when quoting Hindu philosophy to inspire a batch of teachers suddenly become a sin in this country <a href="https://t.co/wpKz7rpLYn">https://t.co/wpKz7rpLYn</a></p>
&mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/933406146680852481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&quot;Did my speech was on cancer? Who told you? I simply asked a new batch of teachers to work sincerely &amp; work for poor.In that context, I argue that if we do not work sincerely in next life we might face karmic deficiency &amp; that may lead to sufferings .what is insensitive about this?&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Did my speech was on cancer? Who told you? I simply asked a new batch of teachers to work sincerely &amp; work for poor.In that context I argue that if we do not work sincerely in next life we might face karmic deficiency &amp; that may lead to sufferings .what is insensitive about this? <a href="https://t.co/jlCAbEdh7s">https://t.co/jlCAbEdh7s</a></p>
&mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa/status/933410722184249344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>All these tweets came in response to&nbsp;Congress leader P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal&#39;s tweets.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Chidambaram wrote:&nbsp;&quot;Cancer is divine justice for sins` says Assam Minister Sharma. That is what switching parties does to a person.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">&#39;Cancer is divine justice for sins&#39; says Assam Minister Sharma. That is what switching parties does to a person.</p>
&mdash; P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) <a href="https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/933340495069220864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>While Kapil Sibal wrote:&nbsp;&quot;Hemanta Biswa Sarma says that cancer is divine justice for sins committed. That such a person is a minister is divine injustice.&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Hemanta Biswa Sarma says that cancer is divine justice for sins committed .<br />
<br />
That such a person is minister is divine injustice .</p>
&mdash; Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KapilSibal/status/933551318454517761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>It all started when Sarma spoke at event in Guwahati about karma and sin. His speech:&nbsp;&quot;God makes us suffer when we sin. Sometimes we come across young men getting inflicted with cancer or young men meeting with accidents. If you observe the background, you will come to know that it`s divine justice, and nothing else. We have to suffer that divine justice.&quot;</p>

<p>The BJP leader further elaborated at the event, saying that the sins could be of this lifetime or previous life, or could be of the parents for which the person has to pay.</p>

<p>&quot;That divine justice always will be there. Nobody can escape the divine justice that will happen,&quot; he added.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Himanta Biswa Sarma said his speech, in which the offending quote appeared, has been meant to motivate teachers, serve the poor

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified on Thursday that his tweet 'cancer divine justice for our sins' was misconstrued, and that it was meant to motivate teachers and serve the poor. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader took to Twitter to offer an explanation after he was slammed by Congress leaders and other prominent personalities on the social media platform. In a series of tweets, Sarma wrote in his defence: "Go through my speech. I never said that sin cause cancer.it was a speech to motivate teacher. Serve poor or otherwise, you may face karmic deficiency and suffer in next life. Science can not promote human value. Religion might. Good night." Go through my speech. I never said that sin cause cancer.it was a speech to motivate teacher.serve poor or otherwise you may face karmic deficiency and suffer in next https://t.co/H4KfY7M9HQ can not promote human value.religion might.good night https://t.co/YTxbCZZnD9 — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 22, 2017 × "Not arguing with anyone. Only availing a huge opportunity to speak a little bit about Hindu philosophy. We accept that even Lord Krishna died because of karmic deficiency. That’s is our philosophy." Not arguing with anyone. Only availing a huge opportunity to speek little bit about Hindu philosophy. We accept that even Lord Krishna died because of karmic deficiency. That’s is our philosophy https://t.co/7Cpec6Kioq — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 23, 2017 × "You have to realise the difference between sin and karma. Politics can come and go. But what is written on Bhagavadgita, is for me the final truth." You have to realise difference between sin and karma.politics can come and go. But what is written on Bhagavadgita,is for me the final truth https://t.co/pxb3qB8MF4 — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 23, 2017 × "Sir, please do not distort. Simply I said that Hinduism believe in karmic law and human sufferings are linked to the karmic deficiency of past life.Don’t you belief that too? Of course in your party, I do not know whether Hindu philosophy can be discussed at all" Sir, please do not distort. Simply I said that Hinduism believe in karmic law and human sufferings are linked to karmic deficiency of past life.Don’t you belief that too?Of course in your party I do not know whether Hindu philosophy can be discussed at all https://t.co/P7CMBIRCYQ — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 22, 2017 × "Do not belittle Hindu philosophy in such simplistic way. If you call me anytime to your studio, I will argue with you that karmic law do exist. You can not written of teachings of Bhagavadgita by using the word pumpkin of the day etc" Do not belittle Hindu philosophy in such simplistic way. If you call me anytime to your studio,I will argue with you that karmic law do exist. You can not written of teachings of Bhagavadgita by using the word pumpkin of the day etc https://t.co/wpKz7rpLYn — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 22, 2017 × "Should I deserve this tweet for quoting Bhagavadgita before a new batch of teachers and asking them to teach poor students sincerely. I do not know when quoting Hindu philosophy to inspire a batch of teachers suddenly become a sin in this country" Should I deserve this tweet for quoting Bhagavadgita before a new batch of teachers and asking them to teach poor students sincerely. I do not know from when quoting Hindu philosophy to inspire a batch of teachers suddenly become a sin in this country https://t.co/wpKz7rpLYn — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 22, 2017 × "Did my speech was on cancer? Who told you? I simply asked a new batch of teachers to work sincerely & work for poor.In that context, I argue that if we do not work sincerely in next life we might face karmic deficiency & that may lead to sufferings .what is insensitive about this?" Did my speech was on cancer? Who told you? I simply asked a new batch of teachers to work sincerely & work for poor.In that context I argue that if we do not work sincerely in next life we might face karmic deficiency & that may lead to sufferings .what is insensitive about this? https://t.co/jlCAbEdh7s — Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 22, 2017 × All these tweets came in response to Congress leader P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal's tweets. Chidambaram wrote: "Cancer is divine justice for sins` says Assam Minister Sharma. That is what switching parties does to a person." 'Cancer is divine justice for sins' says Assam Minister Sharma. That is what switching parties does to a person. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) November 22, 2017 × While Kapil Sibal wrote: "Hemanta Biswa Sarma says that cancer is divine justice for sins committed. That such a person is a minister is divine injustice." Hemanta Biswa Sarma says that cancer is divine justice for sins committed . That such a person is minister is divine injustice . — Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) November 23, 2017 × It all started when Sarma spoke at event in Guwahati about karma and sin. His speech: "God makes us suffer when we sin. Sometimes we come across young men getting inflicted with cancer or young men meeting with accidents. If you observe the background, you will come to know that it`s divine justice, and nothing else. We have to suffer that divine justice." The BJP leader further elaborated at the event, saying that the sins could be of this lifetime or previous life, or could be of the parents for which the person has to pay. "That divine justice always will be there. Nobody can escape the divine justice that will happen," he added.

Assam health minister clarifies: 'Cancer divine justice for our sins' quote was meant to motivate

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>After sweeping all of the Hindi heartland and western parts of the country in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party framed a &lsquo;Look North-East&rsquo; plan and set about achieving its goal to gain a foothold in the region. The northeastern states posed a challenge because the political structure there was a maze of regional outfits, and the Congress was already a dominant presence. Besides, there was little the BJP had done in the region in recent years to be counted as a serious player. It became clear to the party at the outset that it would have to pick and choose allies from among the regional parties and lead an effective coalition. In some states, it could be the dominant partner, in others, it would have to cede space. And so began the plan&rsquo;s execution &mdash; the &lsquo;Act North-East&rsquo;, with party president Amit and a clutch of influential regional leaders burning the midnight oil.</p>

<p>The results have been quick in coming. The BJP now has a government in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Its ally rules in Sikkim, and the party is already working out combinations for Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. The biggest casualty of the BJP&rsquo;s aggression in the North-East has been the Congress. It lost Assam (through the ballot box), Arunachal Pradesh (through political migration) and Manipur (as a result of poor post-poll result strategising).&nbsp;</p>

<p>And even as the Congress grapples to stem the slide, the BJP is optimally using&nbsp;the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) to ride into the region. Launched by the BJP after the party&rsquo;s spectacular victory in Assam in May 2016,&nbsp;NEDA is&nbsp;a broadband political alliance of some 11 regional parties. &nbsp;</p>

<p>In a sense, therefore, the Assam result was the protein-boost for NEDA. The BJP displaced the Congress-led Tarun Gogoi regime with a massive win. The two main factors responsible for the outcome were the voters&rsquo; growing disenchantment with the Congress, and their shift towards a party that was until recently considered an &lsquo;outsider&rsquo;. Both these factors are going to play out in the subsequent months as more North-East states go to polls. But Assam also offers a third reason, and which the Congress will do well to understand if it has to counter the BJP&rsquo;s rise: The effective use of powerful regional leaders.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>But Assam also offers a third reason, and which the Congress will do well to understand if it has to counter the BJP&rsquo;s rise: The effective use of powerful regional leaders.&nbsp;</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The man who played a significant role in scripting the BJP&rsquo;s victory &mdash; Himanta Biswa Sarma &mdash; was only months before a Congress leader. He had been with the party for two decades but found himself pushed to the sidelines by both the central and local leaderships. Neither of the two seemed to have grasped his potential. The BJP did, and soon after Sarma walked into its camp, party president Amit Shah identified him as the key person to devise the electoral campaign for Assam. The rest, as they say, is history. Sarma is today the convenor of NEDA, even as he juggles with his responsibilities as a minister in the Assam government led by Sarbanand Sonowal, and is considered the prime pusher for the BJP&rsquo;s drive into the North-East.</p>

<p>If the Assam win triggered the formalisation of NEDA, the alliance ran into some early embarrassment as well. In mid-2016, after a political mess in Arunachal Pradesh which saw the destabilisation of the then Congress regime allegedly by the BJP, the Supreme Court restored the regime. It was a setback for the BJP and for NEDA. But characteristically enough, the Congress failed to hold on to the advantage for long. The People&rsquo;s Party of Arunachal came along, then the PPA split and a major faction joined the BJP, thus giving the national party a government in the state on a platter. The Congress&rsquo;s failure to read the signals and act before the crisis blew on its face as badly as it did in Assam.</p>

<p>But while political management has been the focus of attention in the success of the BJP and the decline of the Congress in the North-East, one factor that has played a steady but silent role in the changing political dynamics of the region is the rise of the RSS. Till a few years ago, the organisation had just one branch in the entire region; today it has four divisions with several branches that cover Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>The Nagaland party chief has said that a ban on cow slaughter will not happen if the BJP comes to power in the state</h5>
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<p>The growth of the RSS has been due to effective mobilisation on the plank of &lsquo;Hindu identity&rsquo;, but also in the belief (right or wrong) that the RSS is not opposed to the minorities &mdash; who form a significant base of the population in the North-East. Besides, the RSS has been doing a good deal of social work for decades among the tribals and the less privileged, encompassing the areas of education and health. Of course, a lot of this has had to do with countering the work done by outfits of minority faiths, especially the Christian missionaries; RSS would like to refer to all such activities as proselytising.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Having gained ground, the BJP&rsquo;s challenge is not just to sustain the electoral momentum; it comes also from a different and interesting source: cow politics. Across the country, the party has made cow protection a sacred duty. In BJP-ruled states particularly, there is a sense of belligerence in this direction, with certain elements taking the issue to violent extremes. But beef is consumed in considerable quantity in the three States that vote next year in Assembly elections &mdash; Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland &mdash; and so the BJP&rsquo;s local units are treading carefully.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Nagaland party chief has said that a ban on cow slaughter will not happen if the BJP comes to power in the state because the &ldquo;reality here is very different and our central leaders are aware of it&rdquo;. There is no doubt that the party will have to do some intricate manoeuvring. According to the 2001 Census, 88 per cent of Nagaland&rsquo;s population, 87 per cent of Mizoram&rsquo;s population and close to 75 per cent of Meghalaya&rsquo;s population are Christian, who eat beef.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The difference in approach has its own credibility problems. If cow protection is a deeply-felt belief for the rank and file of the BJP, how will the party reconcile to a different approach for cows in the North-East? Does the duality not strengthen criticism against them, of using the beef issue as a political tool to raise passions across the country in general? However, given the sensitivity attached nationwide, it&rsquo;s unlikely that the BJP&rsquo;s political opponents will risk using the issue during election time against the party. That could be some solace for the BJP.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


The complexity of cow politics poses a serious challenge to BJP's electoral momentum in NE India

After sweeping all of the Hindi heartland and western parts of the country in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party framed a ‘Look North-East’ plan and set about achieving its goal to gain a foothold in the region. The northeastern states posed a challenge because the political structure there was a maze of regional outfits, and the Congress was already a dominant presence. Besides, there was little the BJP had done in the region in recent years to be counted as a serious player. It became clear to the party at the outset that it would have to pick and choose allies from among the regional parties and lead an effective coalition. In some states, it could be the dominant partner, in others, it would have to cede space. And so began the plan’s execution — the ‘Act North-East’, with party president Amit and a clutch of influential regional leaders burning the midnight oil. The results have been quick in coming. The BJP now has a government in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Its ally rules in Sikkim, and the party is already working out combinations for Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram. The biggest casualty of the BJP’s aggression in the North-East has been the Congress. It lost Assam (through the ballot box), Arunachal Pradesh (through political migration) and Manipur (as a result of poor post-poll result strategising). And even as the Congress grapples to stem the slide, the BJP is optimally using the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) to ride into the region. Launched by the BJP after the party’s spectacular victory in Assam in May 2016, NEDA is a broadband political alliance of some 11 regional parties. In a sense, therefore, the Assam result was the protein-boost for NEDA. The BJP displaced the Congress-led Tarun Gogoi regime with a massive win. The two main factors responsible for the outcome were the voters’ growing disenchantment with the Congress, and their shift towards a party that was until recently considered an ‘outsider’. Both these factors are going to play out in the subsequent months as more North-East states go to polls. But Assam also offers a third reason, and which the Congress will do well to understand if it has to counter the BJP’s rise: The effective use of powerful regional leaders. But Assam also offers a third reason, and which the Congress will do well to understand if it has to counter the BJP’s rise: The effective use of powerful regional leaders. × The man who played a significant role in scripting the BJP’s victory — Himanta Biswa Sarma — was only months before a Congress leader. He had been with the party for two decades but found himself pushed to the sidelines by both the central and local leaderships. Neither of the two seemed to have grasped his potential. The BJP did, and soon after Sarma walked into its camp, party president Amit Shah identified him as the key person to devise the electoral campaign for Assam. The rest, as they say, is history. Sarma is today the convenor of NEDA, even as he juggles with his responsibilities as a minister in the Assam government led by Sarbanand Sonowal, and is considered the prime pusher for the BJP’s drive into the North-East. If the Assam win triggered the formalisation of NEDA, the alliance ran into some early embarrassment as well. In mid-2016, after a political mess in Arunachal Pradesh which saw the destabilisation of the then Congress regime allegedly by the BJP, the Supreme Court restored the regime. It was a setback for the BJP and for NEDA. But characteristically enough, the Congress failed to hold on to the advantage for long. The People’s Party of Arunachal came along, then the PPA split and a major faction joined the BJP, thus giving the national party a government in the state on a platter. The Congress’s failure to read the signals and act before the crisis blew on its face as badly as it did in Assam. But while political management has been the focus of attention in the success of the BJP and the decline of the Congress in the North-East, one factor that has played a steady but silent role in the changing political dynamics of the region is the rise of the RSS. Till a few years ago, the organisation had just one branch in the entire region; today it has four divisions with several branches that cover Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. The Nagaland party chief has said that a ban on cow slaughter will not happen if the BJP comes to power in the state × The growth of the RSS has been due to effective mobilisation on the plank of ‘Hindu identity’, but also in the belief (right or wrong) that the RSS is not opposed to the minorities — who form a significant base of the population in the North-East. Besides, the RSS has been doing a good deal of social work for decades among the tribals and the less privileged, encompassing the areas of education and health. Of course, a lot of this has had to do with countering the work done by outfits of minority faiths, especially the Christian missionaries; RSS would like to refer to all such activities as proselytising. Having gained ground, the BJP’s challenge is not just to sustain the electoral momentum; it comes also from a different and interesting source: cow politics. Across the country, the party has made cow protection a sacred duty. In BJP-ruled states particularly, there is a sense of belligerence in this direction, with certain elements taking the issue to violent extremes. But beef is consumed in considerable quantity in the three States that vote next year in Assembly elections — Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland — and so the BJP’s local units are treading carefully. The Nagaland party chief has said that a ban on cow slaughter will not happen if the BJP comes to power in the state because the “reality here is very different and our central leaders are aware of it”. There is no doubt that the party will have to do some intricate manoeuvring. According to the 2001 Census, 88 per cent of Nagaland’s population, 87 per cent of Mizoram’s population and close to 75 per cent of Meghalaya’s population are Christian, who eat beef. The difference in approach has its own credibility problems. If cow protection is a deeply-felt belief for the rank and file of the BJP, how will the party reconcile to a different approach for cows in the North-East? Does the duality not strengthen criticism against them, of using the beef issue as a political tool to raise passions across the country in general? However, given the sensitivity attached nationwide, it’s unlikely that the BJP’s political opponents will risk using the issue during election time against the party. That could be some solace for the BJP.

BJP, beef and North-East India

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Assam health minister clarifies: 'Cancer divine justice for our sins' quote was meant to motivate

BJP, beef and North-East India