The Congress party on Monday demanded that mayor Sushma Kharkwal should apologise after she allegedly called Assamese residents in Lucknow “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas,” drawing criticism from the city’s Assamese community.
Shahnawaz Alam, Congress national secretary, said, “Lucknow mayor Sushma Kharkwal, who called them Bangladeshis and Rohingyas because they speak Assamese, should apologise to the Assamese people living in Lucknow. Assam is a part of India, hence Assamese can live anywhere in the country.”
Shahzad Alam, president of Congress Lucknow City South, added, “If Assamese-speaking people are driven out of Uttar Pradesh, extremist organisations like the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) may again resort to violence against Hindi-speaking people in Assam. If this happens, the BJP will be responsible.”
He also urged the mayor to return carts confiscated from Assamese residents during her visit on December 4, highlighting the plight of Assamese families in Phoolbagh near Gudamba police station.
The city Congress delegation reportedly verified documents from Assamese residents, including those from Barpeta and Goalpara districts, proving their citizenship, as well as National Register of Citizens (NRC) certificates. Dinesh Singh, former state vice president of Congress, said, “It seems that after chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s statement on detention centres for infiltrators, mayor Sushma Kharkwal is under pressure to label Indians as foreigners. Congress will not allow this hateful politics of the BJP to succeed.”
During the press conference, residents shared their experiences. Imtiaz, a sanitation worker in Lucknow for 18 years, said, “Police accompanying the mayor broke the locks and took away my cart, the only means of livelihood for me.”
{{/usCountry}}During the press conference, residents shared their experiences. Imtiaz, a sanitation worker in Lucknow for 18 years, said, “Police accompanying the mayor broke the locks and took away my cart, the only means of livelihood for me.”
{{/usCountry}}Alimuddin, a 15-year resident, added that the mayor threatened them to leave Lucknow within 15 days, despite showing Aadhaar cards, voter ID cards, NRC records, and a letter from the Lucknow Labour Department. At least a dozen Assamese residents displayed documents at the press conference.