All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief and Dhubri MP Badruddin Ajmal on Saturday hit out at Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his comments on Miya Muslims and accused him of trying to separate Assamese Muslims from the youth.
Speaking to reporters at Garigaon in Guwahati, Ajmal claimed that Sarma's statement that "Miya" (Muslim) vendors were responsible for the price rise of vegetables in the city was demeaning and hurtful towards the minority community.
“The CM is the head of the state and such words coming from his mouth don't seem right. He should not have said this. I did not like this.”
“By doing all this, he is creating a division between Muslims and the Assamese people. If after all this, some incident happens then the government and CM Sarma will be responsible for it,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“By doing all this, he is creating a division between Muslims and the Assamese people. If after all this, some incident happens then the government and CM Sarma will be responsible for it,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Sarma over his comments. Owaisi said there were a group of people in the country who blamed the Miyas for everything. “There is a group of people in this country who will blame the Miya Muslims if their buffalo does not give milk, if their hen does not lay eggs. They will blame Miya Muslims for all their personal failures too,” he said.
"Nowadays, Modiji has a deep friendship with foreign Muslims. Get some tomatoes, spinach and potatoes from them," Owaisi added.
Sarma blamed the Miya Muslim community for the rising prices of vegetables in Guwahati on Thursday. According to Sarma, the prices of vegetables would not be so high had the Assamese people sold them. "Miya vendors are responsible for the price increase of vegetables in the city. Most of the vegetable vendors who are increasing the price belong to the “Miya community,” he alleged.
“If the Assamese people sell vegetables, would they charge more price from their own people at an inflated price?” he added.
His statement came after Ajmal challenged the Assamese youth to compete with people from the Miya clan in farming. Ajmal said, "If Assamese youth can compete with people of our 'Miya' community in farming, I welcome them. They will have to put forth a lot of effort. Will they, though? I don't think so." The leader said that Assam was incomplete without Miya Muslims.
The Miyas are Bengali-speaking Muslims who live in Assam but are believed to have migrated from Bangladesh. CM Himanta Sarma sealed a museum belonging to the Miyas in Assam last year saying the building is a Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) house and was not allocated to be used as a museum.