By The Wire Staff
New Delhi: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday (January 27) said that between “four to five lakh Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the state. He also underlined that “Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP are directly against Miyas” and urged people to “trouble” Miyas saying “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”.
Addressing reporters on the sidelines of an official event in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma asserted that it was his responsibility to cause hardship to the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims in a derogatory sense.
“Vote chori means we are trying to steal some Miya votes. They should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh,” the chief minister said.
“We are ensuring that they cannot vote in Assam,” he added, responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls.
While the Election Commission is conducting the SIR of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam has been placed under a SR exercise, which resembles routine updates to the rolls. Referring to this distinction, Sarma said, “This [SR] is preliminary. When the SIR comes to Assam, four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam,” signalling that he was unconcerned about criticism from political opponents.
“Let Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” he said, reiterating earlier remarks that the BJP-led government would create ‘utpaat’ (disturbances) for the community while remaining within the bounds of the law.
Sarma made similar statements later on Tuesday evening.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.