Opposition parties in Assam on Sunday slammed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma after he blamed local Bengali-speaking Muslims for rising vegetable prices, saying he was playing communal politics. While AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal said ‘Miyas’ have been ‘hurt’ by the CM’s comment, Congress and other opposition parties sniffed a collusion between the BJP and the AIUDF in ‘communal politics’ ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha elections. Sarma, while responding to reporters’ questions on the high price of vegetables in Guwahati, said, “Vegetables are not priced so high in villages. Here, the Miya vendors charge us more. Had it been Assamese vendors selling vegetables, they wouldn’t have fleeced their own people. I will clear all the footpaths of Guwahati, and I urge our Assamese people to come forward and start their businesses.”
Reacting to Sarma’s statement, Ajmal said such words are unbecoming of a chief minister, who is the head of a state, and the community has been ‘feeling hurt and offended’. This is creating a communal divide. If it triggers any incident, the government and Himanta Biswa Sarma will be responsible for it,” the Lok Sabha MP added. Ajmal also maintained that the prices of vegetables are not controlled by the Miyas.
Urging the Assamese youth to take up agriculture, he added, “We will welcome Assamese youth to join in farming activities. But I don’t think they will do it as it requires a lot of hard work.” Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah alleged that both Sarma and Ajmal were together in creating this ‘Miya-Assamese’ controversy to drive a communal divide between the people.
