'Miya' is a pejorative used for the Bengali - speaking Muslims in Assam. New Delhi:Rajya Sabha MP from Assam Ajeet Kumar Bhuyan said he is considering approaching the Supreme Court (SC) over Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's recent hate speech where he said that his government would clear Guwahati from 'Miyas.'
"I have already filed an FIR at the Dispur police station against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Maybe, the police officials will not take any action against the Chief Minister. I am exploring the option to go to the court against the Chief Minister," said Bhuyan in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat.
He accused Chief Minister Sarma of targeting a particular community and bringing hatred among communities. Chief Minister Sarma has recently drawn flak for blaming the 'Miya' people for the inflated prices of vegetables in the state.
'Miya' is a pejorative used for the Bengali - speaking Muslims in Assam. In his FIR lodged at the Dispur police station last week, Bhuyan said that such statements on the face of it are intended to create a division among different communities in the state and are clearly prejudicial to national integration.
"A closer look at the statement would make it clear that the intention is to promote enmity between different groups on the ground of religion and race. Subsequent to the assertion made by the Chief Minister, some other ministers and MLAs also reiterate such statements which have the potential to create enmity between different groups," Bhuyan said. In his FIR, Bhuyan also mentioned a Supreme Court directive where the apex court asked all states and union territories to register cases over hate speech even though no complaint is made by various leaders of the ruling party targeting a community.
"In view of the same, I am lodging this FIR bringing to your notice the aforesaid statement of the Chief Minister and requesting you for registering a case under Section 153A, 153B, and also u/s 295A of the IPC and to investigate the matter and to take action so that the fragile peace in the state is not disturbed," Bhuyan said in his FIR.
The independent MP in the Rajya Sabha from Assam Bhuyan further criticised the BJP government at the Centre for the present situation of Manipur. "Had it (Manipur) been an opposition-ruled State, the present situation would have been totally different," said Bhuyan asserting that the BJP government in Manipur is also not doing enough to control the ethnic violence.
Bhuyan also slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged silence over Manipur violence. "His government said that Modi visited North East 40 times in the last nine years, but surprisingly he did not bother to speak at least once for Manipur in the last two months," said Bhuyan. "All visit of the Prime Minister to the Northeast is totally related to policies. If there is any election, Modi will visit the Northeast and even in all his speech you will hear about the Northeast. But, when the entire Manipur has been burning, Modi forgot to speak about Manipur," Bhuyan said.
