The incident happened weeks after Himanta Biswa Sarma blamed the Muslim-owned University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya for the flood problem in his state
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is facing severe criticism for deriding a senior Muslim journalist after establishing his religious identity. The chief minister publicly castigated Shah Alam, a senior reporter at Newz Now, for seeking his comments on the reported cutting of trees and destruction of hills in Sarma’s assembly constituency of Jalukbari.
The incident happened weeks after Sarma blamed the Muslim-owned University of Science and Technology (USTM) located in Meghalaya for the flood problem in Assam accusing its owner Mahbubul Hoque of cutting and razing hills.
When Alam asked Sarma about the destruction of the hills in his constituency, the chief minister started defending it and inquired the name of the reporter.
After the reporter revealed his name, Sarma started his communal diatribe by saying, “Oh! You people, like Shah Alam and USTM proprietor Mahbubul Hoque have all combined the issues that have become a big question for our Assamese community.”
Then folding his hands Sarma continued his sarcastic communal undertones, and said: “Shah Alam and the rest of the ilk should be asked whether we can live, strive and continue our existence. You people have combined all the issues together and this itself poses an important question whether people like me and others will be able to live in Assam. The issue is not about green cover, but the bigger issue is the demography change, and there should be a discussion about whether people like Shah Alam and Mahbubul Hoque will permit us to live here.”
The chief minister’s remarks have drawn flak from various media bodies and political leaders.
“In the latest case, the honourable chief minister pulled the religious identity of a journalist into context without any apparent relevance during a press interaction on August 21. The Gauhati Press Club expresses deep concern at such an incident. We urge all political leaders to ensure no recurrence of such instances in the future and show dignity to their position as well as the role of the media,” said the club in a statement.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi also slammed Sarma calling him to publicly apologise for his remarks.
“These repeated insults are a sign of desperation. He has proven to be extremely incompetent whether in tackling floods, reducing inflation, building schools or creating jobs. My suggestion is that he should learn from Marwari community in Sivasagar and publicly apologise to the people. Then he can take VRS and enjoy his private resort,” wrote Gogoi, who is also deputy leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha.
The Journalists’ Union of Assam slammed Sarma for the “personal attack” on Alam.
“Instead of answering the query from the journalist, the chief minister referred to his religious identity,” the union said in a joint statement issued by its president Samim Sultana Ahmed and general secretary Dhanjit Kumar Das.
The Assam state committee of the CPI (M) in a press statement condemned Sarma’s communal remarks against the reporter as an attempt to spread communal acrimony in the state.
The Youth Journalist Forum of Assam also severely condemned the incident.
