Assam CM defends notices to Bengali-speaking Muslims, says it's a 'pressure tactic'

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday (January 24) said that notices were being served to Bengali-speaking Muslims, referred to as ‘Miya’ in the state, during the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls, claiming that there was no controversy surrounding the process.

Elaborating further, Himanta said that notices were served to “‘Miyas’ and such people” to “keep them under pressure.”

“There is no controversy over SR. Which Hindu has got notice? Which Assamese Muslim has got notice? Notices have been served to Miyas and such people, else they will walk over our heads,” Sarma said, talking to reporters on the sidelines of a government programme in Nalbari district.

'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and a section of the people identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.

What is SR

According to media reports quoting officials, SR stands somewhere between the annual special summary revision and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

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"It is in a way an upgrade of special summary revision ... instead of enumeration forms, booth-level officers will verify electors on a pre-filled register," a senior functionary told PTI.

‘A pressure tactic’

“There is nothing to hide. We are giving them trouble,” Sarma asserted, mentioning how he had earlier also stated that 'Miyas' will be in for problems under his regime.

The Chief Minister maintained that it was a tactic to keep Bengali-speaking Muslims under pressure and said, “They have to understand that at some level, people of Assam are resisting them. Otherwise, they will get a walkover. That’s why some will get notices during SR, some for eviction, some from border police (relating to citizenship)."

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“We will do some ‘utpaat’ (mischief), but within the ambit of law… we are with the poor and downtrodden, but not those who want to destroy our ‘jati’ (community),” Sarma added.

The Chief Minister had earlier claimed that 'Miyas' will form about 40 per cent of the state’s population in the next Census.

SR aimed at harassing minorities: Opposition

The opposition parties have alleged that the SR exercise ahead of the assembly elections is being conducted to harass genuine citizens, mostly religious minorities, by "BJP agents", with Form 7 especially being used to complain against bona fide voters.

By using Form 7, one can request the deletion of one’s own name for any of three reasons: permanently shifted, already enrolled or not an Indian citizen.

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Similarly, any voter of that constituency can apply for the deletion of names of others on the basis of any of the five reasons: death, underage, absent/ permanently shifted, already enrolled, or not an Indian citizen. Hearing is conducted by the authorities based on Form 7 applications before the deletion of names.

A state Congress functionary had on Friday also filed a police complaint against local BJP leaders and government officials involved in the electoral roll revision in Boko-Chhaygaon Assembly constituency over alleged attempted deletion and inclusion of voters' names unauthorisedly.

(With agency inputs)