GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he will not allow "Miya Muslims" to take over the state and the statement fuelled protests and a walkout from the opposition benches on Tuesday, 27 August.
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Responding to an adjournment motion brought by Congress, AIUDF, CPI-M, and Raijor Dal, who sought to adjourn the House to discuss the issue of lawlessness in the state, Sarma said, “I will take sides. What can you do about it? Whatever you want, you do it."
“You made a big statement on the floor of the House. Jania MLA and Opposition leader stated that people would move from Lower Assam to Upper Assam. But why? It means you (Miya Muslims) will take over the whole of Assam. We will not allow you to take over it," Sarma said.
Quoting a Supreme Court judgment, the Chief Minister asserted that Assam has been facing "economic and external aggression" due to population imbalance.
Sarma further reinforced his point by invoking the words of prominent Assam leaders from the past, Gopinath Bordoloi and Bishnuram Medhi, stating that they had similarly addressed these concerns on the floor of the House.
The Chief Minister highlighted a recent report claiming that the Miya Muslim community had considered stopping the supply of fish to Upper Assam and interpreted this as an indication of an "economic blockade" mentality being fostered within the community.
“Three days before, there was a report that they (Miya Muslims) would stop the supply of fish to Upper Assam. It meant you brought a concept of economic blockade in your mind," he said.
The Chief Minister emphasised the importance of safeguarding the rights and privileges of the indigenous people in the state and said, “Till when the rights and privileges of the indigenous people are safe, till then everybody will be safe in our state. If you want to dominate over them by threatening, the situation will not be normal."
He highlighted the longstanding cultural and territorial dominance of the indigenous people in their land and said, “Please keep it in your mind that the indigenous people have had their dominance in their areas for more than a thousand years. They have cultural influence in their areas. The Indigenous people have this right; the UN has also a charter of rights for Indigenous people.”
The Chief Minister distinguished between constitutional rights and social systems, particularly in the context of the state's cultural and religious sites.
“Constitutional right and social systems are two separate things. If you say that Kamakhya is also in Assam and you would go and settle there, it is not allowed. You have the right to every part of the state under Article 40 of the Constitution of India. But it can’t be applied everywhere," he stressed.
“My request to the Miya-Muslim community is not to forcefully try to settle in indigenous Assamese areas against their will; this will aggravate societal fault lines and be a possible security issue,” he further said.
“There are indigenous people living in Upper Assam, and if they call you for work, you can go there. But if you reiterate your statement that you would take over the entire Assam, it will be impossible for me to control the law and order,” he further said.
The Chief Minister further said the 30 organisations which issued 7-day ultimatum to Miyas to leave Upper Assam were not acting unlawfully by issuing the ultimatum, saying, "They issued a statement, not taking law and order into their hands."
Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi was suspended from the House amid Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's reply. The suspension led to a strong reaction from the opposition members, resulting in a walkout by Congress and CPI-M legislators.
The adjournment motions were moved by opposition leader Debabrata Saikia, AIYDF MLA Aminul Islam, CPI(M) member Manoranjan Talukdar and Raijor Das legislator Akhil Gogoi.
Speaker Biswajit Daimary refused to admit the adjournment motion put forward by the opposition and said that the matter raised was not significant enough to warrant adjourning the House for the day.
Earlier, before the session started, the Congress members staged a protest outside the House due to the lawlessness situation in the state.
