Owaisi taunts Himanta Sarma for "Miya" remark blaming Muslim vendors for rising vegetable prices

New Delhi: Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi criticized Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for attributing the escalating vegetable prices to Muslim vendors during a taunting remark on Friday night.

Owaisi sarcastically questioned whether they also blame "Miya bhai" for their personal failures.

Earlier on Friday, Sarma stirred a major controversy by claiming that Muslim vegetable sellers were responsible for inflating vegetable prices, insinuating that if Assamese people sold vegetables, they would not overcharge their own people.

He reportedly stated, "Who are the people who have increased the price of vegetables so much? They are Miya traders, who are selling vegetables at a higher price."

The term 'Miya' refers to Bengali-speaking Muslims residing in Assam, believed to have originally migrated from Bangladesh. The Assam Chief Minister has frequently criticized the Miya community for being “very communal” and labelled them as 'outsiders' attempting to distort Assamese culture and language.

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"Miya traders are charging high prices for vegetables from Assamese people in Guwahati, while the price of vegetables is low in the villages. If Assamese traders were selling vegetables today, they would never have charged more from their Assamese people", Sarma added, according to a BBC report.

In response, Asaduddin Owaisi, the President of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), swiftly retaliated with a sharp retort.

He remarked that there are individuals in the country who blame "Miya ji" for everything, even if their buffalo fails to produce milk or their hen doesn't lay eggs.

"There is such a mandali (group) in the country who will blame Miya ji even when the buffalo does not give milk or the hen does not lay eggs in their house. Perhaps they blame their 'personal' failures on Miya bhai as well," he said.

Owaisi also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alluding to his friendly relations with Muslims from foreign countries.

"Manage by asking them for tomatoes, spinach, potatoes etc." he quipped, referring to PM's recent visits to Muslim-majority countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi today on a day-long visit to the UAE, during which he will meet UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and review the burgeoning bilateral ties between the two strategic partners.

Badruddin Ajmal, the chief of the India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of attempting to alienate Assamese Muslims from the youth through his remarks regarding the surging vegetable prices in the state.

Speaking to media persons at Garigaon in Guwahati, the AIUDF chief claimed that Assam Chief Minister Sarma's statement that "Miya" (Muslim) vendors were responsible for the price rise of vegetables in the city was demeaning and hurtful towards the minority community.

“The CM said people from the Miya community will not be allowed to sell vegetables and spices in Guwahati. This kind of statement isn't appropriate for the chief minister of a state. He is the head of the state, and it isn't right for him to be making such remarks. We are disheartened by the CM's remarks," Ajmal, also a perfume baron, said.

The AIUDF chief alleged further that Sarma's statement creates a chasm between the Muslims and the other Assamese people, including the youth.

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