Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday urged ‘Miya’ Muslims to not power settlement in indigenous areas, citing societal tensions and safety dangers. His remarks got here amid a heated debate within the Assam Meeting, significantly throughout a session centered on the state’s legislation and order state of affairs following the alleged rape of a 14-year-old lady in Nagaon district.
Sarma, responding to opposition events’ adjournment motions on rising crimes, asserted his stance, stating, “I’ll take sides. What are you able to do about it? Why will individuals from Decrease Assam go to Higher Assam? In order that Miya Muslims can take over Assam? We can’t let it occur”, information company PTI reported
Taking to X (previously Twitter), he urged the ‘Miya-Muslim’ neighborhood to not forcibly settle in indigenous Assamese areas, warning that such actions might irritate societal tensions and pose safety dangers.
“Rafiqul Zaman Sahab, MLA of Jania constituency stated that they’ll go… If you wish to insist on going to Karbi Anglong, BTR, Higher (Assam) like this, do not insist on going. I encourage you to not persist. At the moment I discovered it stunning that Debabrata Saikia, the opposition chief stated that he himself is the MLA of Nazira constituency and he has stated that Miya Muslim should go from Higher Assam. The Miya Muslim phrase was used, individuals will go from Higher to decrease. You’ve got additionally stated you’ll go. At this delicate second, I’ll let you know one factor: do not go forcefully the place the Assamese individuals do not wish to. Go after they wish to. Now have a look at what occurred to the entire hills of Guwahati. Now within the forests, we do not need you, you can not insist on going. Do not go. I let you know as soon as once more when you go forcefully in opposition to the need of Higher Assam individuals, there will likely be no safety there,” Sarma stated in an accompanying video.
My request to the Miya-Muslim neighborhood is to not forcefully attempt to settle in indigenous Assamese areas in opposition to their will; it will irritate societal fault strains and be a attainable safety difficulty.#AssamLegislativeAssembly pic.twitter.com/LIMeh6V1Pg
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 27, 2024
In one other video shared by the Assam Chief Minister on X, he addressed the problem of communal tensions within the state, significantly within the districts of Barpeta and Dhubri. He remarked that if Hindus face persecution in these areas and are protected by the bulk, then intervention won’t be crucial. Sarma talked about that over the previous 4 months, incidents in these districts led him to ship Jayanta Malla Baruah, however the native MLA didn’t take motion. Sarma questioned, “Who’s taking sides right here?” He urged that tolerance in direction of Hindus throughout Assam might forestall such incidents.
कांग्रेसी कहते हैं कि मैं तुष्टिकरण कर रहा हूँ। अब सच सुन लीजिए:
मुस्लिम बहुल क्षेत्र में एक मुसलमान हिंदू पर अत्याचार करता है और वहां के स्थानीय विपक्ष के विधायक पीड़ित परिवारजनों से मिलते भी नहीं। लेकिन वहां हमारे मंत्री गए।
कांग्रेस किसके पक्ष में है? pic.twitter.com/GOoPcfd6lv
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 27, 2024
Himanta Biswa Sarma additionally highlighted the complexity of rape circumstances involving people from totally different non secular communities, stating that societal issues come up when advocates from both neighborhood refuse to take up circumstances involving the opposite. He recounted his go to to Laharighat in Morigaon, the place a Muslim lady was raped, noting that each the sufferer and the perpetrator had been from the identical neighborhood. He criticised those that tried to downplay the incident and urged the Meeting to ship a transparent message that legal professionals shouldn’t defend accused people primarily based on communal strains. Sarma emphasised that safety ought to prolong to Hindus who proceed to face persecution in areas like Barpeta and Dhubri.
The change intensified when opposition members, together with Congress, AIUDF, and CPI(M) MLAs, stormed into the Effectively of the Home, prompting Speaker Biswajit Daimary to adjourn proceedings for ten minutes. The opposition accused the federal government of failing to guard girls and forestall crimes, with Chief of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia stating, “The CM, who additionally holds the Residence portfolio, is by no means severe and anxious in regards to the state of affairs.” He additional criticised the federal government for allegedly instructing the police to not register circumstances of crimes in opposition to girls when sure communities weren’t concerned.
The controversy follows feedback by Opposition MLA Akhil Gogoi, who claimed that the BJP is making an attempt to duplicate the 2002 Gujarat incidents in Assam, NDTV reported. Gogoi’s remarks had been in response to studies of organisations allegedly threatening Muslims in Higher Assam, demanding their departure from the area. The AIUDF has since written to Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, looking for motion in opposition to these organisations and teams issuing threats to the Muslim neighborhood, as reported by NDTV.
ALSO READ | Assam Gang Rape: CM Himanta Blames ‘Explicit Neighborhood’ For Rise In Felony Actions
Protests Erupt Throughout Guwahati Over Ladies’s Security, Assam Govt ‘Inaction’
Protests additionally erupted throughout Guwahati, with opposition leaders and girls’s teams decrying the federal government’s alleged inaction. Congress MLAs led by Debabrata Saikia marched inside the meeting compound, holding placards demanding the security of ladies and condemning the focusing on of a specific neighborhood for crimes in opposition to girls. Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi additionally protested, likening the present state of affairs to the Mahabharat’s Draupadi ‘vastraharan’ incident, with Sarma depicted as Dhritarashtra, as per PTI.
In Higher Assam, AIUDF MLA Ashraful Hussain criticised the federal government for failing to guard the life and property of a particular neighborhood, alleging discrimination in land rights and possession. He condemned the administration’s dealing with of latest crimes, stating, “The Residence Division, which is beneath the CM, has failed to guard the life and property of individuals.”
In the meantime, protests continued at Dhing, demanding the arrest of the remaining two suspects concerned within the Nagaon rape case. The prime accused, who was arrested on Friday, reportedly escaped custody and died on Saturday after leaping right into a pond. The opposite two suspects stay at giant, with police conducting raids to apprehend them.