Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
Credit: PTI Photo
Guwahati: In a blunt reply to the Opposition's charge of "vote chori" through the ongoing special revision of the electoral rolls, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said he was trying to "steal" votes of the Miyas, a pejorative used to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
"Miyas should not be voting in Assam, they should vote in Bangladesh. We have taken steps to ensure that they can't vote in Assam but this is a preliminary work. When SIR (Special Intensive Revision) comes to Assam, four to five lakh Miya voters will be removed. Let Congress say whatever they want to, my job is to give troubles to the Miyas," Sarma told reporters in Guwahati when asked about the Opposition's charge.
Sarma's statement came two days after the Congress-led alliance of the opposition parties alleged that many genuine voters, including the victims of the ongoing evictions, were being illegally removed from the electoral rolls during the special revision. The parties alleged that many fake objections were being filed by BJP workers to remove the genuine voters.
"Miyas have reached Duliajan, Tinsukia. A few days back, I was going through some records in Tinsukia, which showed that Assamese people are selling land and the Miyas are buying those. So if we don't take steps now to stop them from going to Upper Assam, when we will do? No Assamese people are affected in the SR exercise. Let the Miyas feel a bit disturbed, where is the harm? Sarma said.
BJP and its allies call the Bengali-speaking Muslims as "infiltrators" from Bangladesh and a threat to identity of the indigenous people in Assam, a state sharing border with the neighbouring nation. The party and the government has intensified its drive to evict the Bengali-speaking Muslims from forests and government land in the run up to Assembly elections slated in March-April. Foreigners issue takes centre stage in elections in Assam.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, while reacting to Sarma's statement, said that the CM was deliberately making such comment in order to play polarisation politics in the run up to the polls.
BJP is also constantly trying to project Congress and its allies as the "protector of the Miyas," as it intensify its campaign with a target to form government for the third straight term.