Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti's (KMSS) students' wing Chatra Mukti Sangram Samiti (CMSS) today registered a case against Assam Education and Health minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma at the Tinsukia police station under the hate speech law for his statements on the proposed granting of Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindus.
The CMSS filed the case under section 153 A of the Indian Penal Court invoked for promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc.
The section is cognisable and non-bailable with the punishment prescribed as imprisonment which may extend to three years or with a fine, or both.
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Commenting on the vexed issue of proposed Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindus, Sarma had on Wednesday stated that he supported the amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, proposing to make Hindus and other minority communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan eligible for Indian citizenship by naturalisation in seven years.
Responding to reporters' query on opposition parties' protest against the new Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, the minister had said "The people of the state have to choose who their enemy is. The 1 to 1.5 lakh people or 55 lakh people. The Assamese community is at the crossroads. We could not (save) 11 districts. If we continue to remain this way, six more districts will go out (of our hands) in the 2021 Census."
"In 2031 more (districts) will go out. The people of the state have to choose who their enemy is. After all, the country was divided in the name of religion. Thus, it is not a new thing," the minister had claimed.
This triggered protests from opposition parties, students and social organisations, two former chief ministers, AIUDF and the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) that has sponsored the illegal Bangladeshi migrants' Assam Movement.
Warning the minister not to make such statements, AASU president Dipangko Kumar Nath said "Since Sarma is the Education minister of the state, his statement should be modest as students may follow what he says. Such a statement from a minister may make students go astray. He should stop talking like a fundamentalist.
Former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta said "We
can't let Assam be the grazing ground of foreigners. We shouldered a lot of burdens of foreigners. There is no question of shouldering any burden of the Bangladeshis who entered Assam after March 25, 1971."
"While adopting the Constitution in 1952, its Preamble spelt out clearly that India is a secular country. If what Sarma has said have to be accommodated then the Constitution has to be changed. The main point is that the Assam Accord has been accepted by all," he said.
Another former CM Tarun Gogoi, against whom Sarma had lead a dissidence before he joined the BJP, said "Himanta is going to be a second Jinnah. What he said has violated both the Constitution and the Assam Accord."
AIUDF's president Badruddin Ajmal said the Education minister was making communally sensitive statements on the issue of Bangladeshi Hindus and that there was no opposition to the detection of foreigners in accordance with the existing laws and the Assam Accord.
AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam warned "If need be, we may move a privilege motion in the Assembly."
Reacting to the sharp criticism to his statement, Sarma said "My statement that 'Hindu population is declining fast and that of Muslim is going up in the state' is based on facts and figures. A debate on the issue can find out a tangible solution."
The BJP state unit, however, has distanced itself from Himanta's statements with state BJP's Minority Morcha president Mominul Aowal and party spokesperson Rupam Goswami stating, "The recent statements on the Bangladeshi Hindu issue made by Himanta Biswa Sarma are his personal, not of the party."
"The statements on Bangladeshi Hindus were made in his personal function, neither of the BJP nor of the government led by it in the state. The statements were purely his personal, not of the party that has an honest-to-goodness policy of 'sabka saath, sabka vikash'. We hope, this government will pledge to provide complete security to the state and work for its development," they added.
