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If he crosses the line, will have him locked up, says Himanta on Mahmood Madani
Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind president Mahmood A Madani said people were being divided on the basis of religion to grab power in Assam
SILCHAR: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday threatened to have Islamic scholar and All India Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind president Mahmood A Madani locked up if he crosses the line.
The chief minister’s statement came hours after Madani, who is visiting locations in the state where members of the Muslim community were being evicted under a state-wide drive, criticised the state government’s handling of the eviction drive.
“People are being divided on the basis of religion to grab power. Particular slogans are being raised, they are being called a ‘particular community’, they are being called ‘Miya’, they are being called ‘unknown’, they are being called ‘doubtful’, and derogatory words are being used. That attitude is more painful than the barbaric manner in which the eviction is being carried out.“If someone is doubtful, there is a way to clear the doubt. Why do you not adopt that method?” Madani said in a statement.
“If the encroachers are foreigners, they must go. But if they are Indian citizens, they cannot be evicted without rehabilitation, as per the directive of the Supreme Court,” the former Rajya Sabha member added, a day after visiting relief camps in Goalpara.
Sarma responded to Madani’s statements. “Who is Madani? He might have been important during Congress rule, but not anymore. I am the chief minister, not him. If he crosses the line, I will have him locked up,” he said.
The chief minister said he had allowed Madani’s delegation to visit Goalpara “to see the ground reality” for themselves. “Now that he has seen it, he will think twice before encouraging such actions,” he said, adding that the eviction drive, which started in July, would continue.
