“Kancer is caused by sins”, says the minister

Indians have reacted angrily after State Health Minister Asam said cancer is “divine justice” caused by “the past sins of a person”.

Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that people can also be affected with diseases like cancer because of their parents' “sins.

God makes us suffer when we sin”, he said at a public rally Wednesday.

Cancer patients and their relatives have said they are saddened by the minister's statement, the BBC reports.

Opposition parties have described his comments as the bad “” and have said the minister should publicly apologise.

The opposition party “United India Democratic Front” has said Sarma has made these comments “to cover his failure to control the spread of cancer in the state”.

According to the Council of India for Medical Research, lack of consciousness and testing causes only 12.5 percent of patients in India to start treatment in early stages of the disease.