Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday issued remarks brimming with hate against Bengali-speaking Muslims, using the derogatory term ‘Miyas’. He claimed that lower Assam could not be taken back by Bengali-speaking Muslims and pressure should be exerted on them so that they do not move towards the upper districts of the state, a report by PTI said.
He said that if enough pressure is put on them, they could be driven out of the state in 10-15 years.
“Lower Assam cannot be taken back from them. We must ensure that they cannot proceed further. We have to keep them under pressure and create difficulties so that if not today, they are forced to leave after 10-15 years,” the BJP leader, known for his series of anti-Muslim statements, spewed.
He further claimed that Bengali-speaking Muslims vote unitedly, which has ensured that they are moving ‘forward politically, whereas the votes of "our people" are scattered.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of various programmes, Sarma said, “The Miyas vote together, in a chunk. That is why they are moving forward politically. Our votes are scattered. That's why I tell our people to vote together, for whichever party or person it could be.” 'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.
The BJP government in Assam is running a massive drive to evict families from lands where they have lived for decades in the name of clearing encroachment. It is to be noted that the lion's share of those evicted were Bengali-speaking Muslims.