NEW DELHI: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his controversial remarks on “troubling Miya Muslims”, calling them unconstitutional and divisive.Owaisi mocked the chief minister, saying, “I want to give you Rs 2 as alms,” and accused him of reducing constitutional governance to prejudice and intimidation. In a lengthy response, Owaisi said India’s Constitution guarantees equality and non-discrimination, regardless of religion or community. “The Constitution says all are equal. No discrimination should be done, whether it is a chief minister or anyone else,” he said.
Owaisi alleged that Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam were being scapegoated for issues ranging from migration to rising prices. “If vegetable prices increase in Assam, Miya Muslims are blamed. If someone wants to vote, they are told to go to Bangladesh,” he said, adding that such rhetoric amounted to targeting a community for political gain.The AIMIM leader’s remarks came after Sarma made statements encouraging action against “Miya Muslims” in Assam. Sarma said, “Trouble the Miya Muslims by any means. If they face trouble, they will go from Assam … We are directly against the Miya Muslims. We are not hiding anything.”The comments triggered a political storm in the election-bound northeastern state, with opposition parties accusing the BJP of resorting to communal polarisation to consolidate votes. The BJP, however, has long maintained that its focus in Assam is on addressing illegal immigration and protecting indigenous rights. Bengali-speaking Muslims have frequently been labelled “illegal infiltrators” in political discourse, an issue that has remained central to Assam’s electoral politics.
