Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday claimed that ‘Mians’ vote unitedly, due to which they ‘remain politically strong’, while the votes of ‘our people’ are scattered. He stressed that continued ‘pressure’ will have to be maintained on illegal settlers from the districts of lower Assam, i.e. the western part of the Brahmaputra valley, to ‘stop them from moving further’.
CM Himanta said, ‘Mian people vote together, outright. That’s why they are moving forward politically. Our votes are scattered, so I ask our people to vote unitedly, no matter in favor of any party or person.
‘Mian’ is a derogatory term originally used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and non-Bengali-speaking people generally consider them to be Bangladeshi infiltrators. In recent years, community activists have begun to adopt the term as a form of resistance.
We have to maintain pressure on ‘Mian’ people: Himanta
In an indirect reference to Bengali-speaking Muslims becoming a majority in many parts of the state, the Chief Minister said, ‘Lower Assam cannot be taken back from them. We have to ensure that they cannot move forward. We will have to maintain pressure on them and create such conditions that even if not today, they will be forced to leave here in 10-15 years.
‘People voted for Congress for years, but…’
Sarma attacked the Congress, alleging that the opposition party has failed to solve the problems of the people who voted for it over the years. The Chief Minister said, ‘Congress was in power here for 60 years. They could have given a ‘lease’ of the land, but they did not do so. He was referring to the large-scale encroachment on forests and other government lands, allegedly by Bengali-speaking Muslims.