Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam, wrote a letter to Eknath Shinde, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, requesting him to ask Bachchu Kadu, a state legislator, to retract his statement about sending stray dogs to Assam, which he made earlier this month. Additionally, Sarma requested that Shinde issue a press release expressing regret for Kadu's comment.
"Along with the people of Assam, I am extremely dismayed and agitated by the comments of the aforesaid MLA which has expressed his prejudices and ignorance about the culture of our State. I am sure that you will fully empathise with the sentiments of the people of Assam in this matter," Sarma wrote in his letter to Shinde.
The Prahar Janshakti Party (PJP) leader made the remark in the Maharashtra assembly, during a discussion on the issue of problems caused by stray dogs.
"Stray dogs are in demand in Assam. They fetch a selling price of up to Rs 8,000. To control the population of stray dogs in the state, they should be dispatched to Assam," he had said.
The politician reasoned that locals in the northeastern state ‘consume' dogs. His statement, however, invited flak from animal rights activists.