GUWAHATI: Stating that the coming assembly election in Assam will be fought on cultural rather than religious lines, state cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said BJP will field Muslim candidates in polls who have not challenged Assamese identity, consider India and Assam as their motherland and revere Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva and Ahom general Lachit Borphukan.
“The Assam Muslim population is divided into two streams — those came to Assam from Bangladesh and those who are indigenous. Some people who had come to Assam at different point of times have started to identify themselves as ‘miya Muslim’ and are involved in various activities to distort Assamese language and Assamese culture. They are very communal too,” Himanta said.
The Assam Muslim population is nearly 35% of the state’s total population and only a miniscule number of them are indigenous. The rest have migrated from Bangladesh over several decades and play a decisive role in more than 30 of the 126 assembly seats. BJP is aiming to win more than 100 seats in the coming election and to do so it has to try and win seats where Muslims are in majority.
Sarma said, “We will give party tickets to members from the Muslim community who accepts India as their motherland, Assam as their motherland. But we will not give tickets to those who identify themselves as miya Muslims.”
He added, “Let me be very clear that this is a cultural issue and not a religious issue. The entire miya population is communal and will try to emerge as stronger this election. So, I request Congress also not to give them party tickets and not allow them to flourish.”
Sarma said ‘miya’ is a revered word in north India but “in Assam, the word is used to challenge our identity, our culture by a particular micro-section of Muslim community.” He added, “Neither we were going to give them tickets nor do we want their votes.”
“If you identify as miya, do not vote for me, even not by mistake. But those who identify themselves as Assamese, will do vote for us. All Muslims do not identify themselves as miya. This election will give a rough idea how many identify as Indians and Assamese Muslim and how many as miya…this will throw a data,” Sarma added.
He further said, “I don’t want to be an MLA with votes of miyas. I cannot compromise with my soul. My personal opinion is that the people who openly challenge Assamese culture, language and composite Indian culture shouldn’t vote for us.”