‘Will not allow Miya Muslims take over Assam,’ says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
The BJP leader’s remarks came after organisations allegedly threatened the community in Upper Assam to leave the administrative division.
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that he would not allow Miya Muslims to “take over the state” and asked why members of the community needed to move to Upper Assam.
The term “Miya Muslims” refers to Muslims of Bengali origin who are often falsely accused of being “illegal immigrants”. The administrative division of Upper Assam, comprising nine districts, is the heartland of Assamese politics and is home to several ethnic communities.
The chief minister’s remarks came after fundamentalist organisations allegedly threatened Miya Muslims in Upper Assam to leave the administrative division. The threats were issued following the alleged gangrape of a 14-year-old girl in the Dhing area of Assam’s Nagaon district on August 22.
A 24-year-old, identified as Tafazul Islam, was among three persons accused in the gangrape case.
“The Leader of Opposition [Debabrata Saikia] and Jania MLA [Rafiqul Islam] has said a big thing today, knowingly or unknowingly,” Sarma said in the Assembly on Tuesday.
“[They said] people will go from Lower Assam to Upper Assam. Why will [they go]?...This means you [Miya Muslims] want to take over the entire state?” he alleged. “We will also not allow...We will not allow Assam to make Miyaland.”
Sarma was responding to adjournment motions moved by the Congress, the All India United Democratic Front, the...
