Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that AIUDF chief Maulana Badaruddin Ajmal‘s comment on “Miya Sankranti” has reflected the real scene in the socioeconomic condition of the state, but it is a great humiliation to the people of indigenous communities.
“He spoke the right thing. 7 out of 10 people in the city are Miya. This is very unfortunate. His comment should be taken as an insult. There is a need to respond to this comment by developing a work culture for indigenous people. Otherwise, the entire race will perish,” Sarma said at a press conference in Guwahati.
Ajmal had said that without Miya for three days, Guwahati would turn into a graveyard.
Sarma said that Miyas are working in the vegetable market, fish market, and construction sites and engaged as drivers and handyman of various vehicles in the Guwahati city and if they stop working, the entire Guwahati will turn into a graveyard.
“Yes, I agree. There are Miya people in everywhere in the city right from the fish market, meat shop and Ola Uber. This is very sad because seven out of ten businessmen in the city are Mias. Because of this, the entire city is empty for two days of Eid.
“Moreover, although 1.5 lakh vehicles ply daily in Guwahati, if we add Ola Uber it will be around 2 lakh vehicles. Altogether 2 lakh people are getting employment through this. But if you take the report, you will see that most drivers are Mias. They are not indigenous Muslims, nor are they Indian Muslims. As a result of this, various types of crimes including Jihad are taking place in society,” the chief minister said.
Sarma said that Ajmal’s comment should be taken as an insult by the indigenous people and they should develop a work culture among themselves.
“Not only Guwahati but also Mias are working in large numbers in cities like Dibrugarh, Sivsagar etc,” he said.
Targeting Congress and AIUDF, the chief minister said that these parties have a relationship of voting with the Muslim community and over the years have sought votes from them by intimidating the community.
“Congress and AIUDF intimidated the Muslim community for votes. They are only interested in votes, but they have not taken any step for their welfare and development of the places where they live,” Sarma said.
“After elections get over, they snap forget all the promises they made during elections,” he said.
“As a first step we have taken measures to improve the living conditions of the indigenous Muslims and a survey will be soon conducted on them.
“For the remaining Muslims (migrants) the state government has taken steps to stop child marriage and madrasa education along with setting up of new schools, colleges and health institutions, bridges to improve communication and electrification of the villages,” the chief minister said.
“We are working for this section of Muslims as philanthropies as we have no expectations of getting votes from them. Politicians work for people in the hope of getting votes and public services do have a small amount of selfish interest which they hope will be translated into votes,” he said.
“The BJP government is however, is providing free services for Bengali-speaking Muslims as we know we will not get votes from them but we are still giving them the benefit of our Orunudoi and have provided them ration cards, health insurance, and constructed bridges,” he further said.
“For the migrant Muslims, our government is balle-balle and they will never have better days than this. The Congress and AIUDF will calculate the votes received but we do not go to their areas for votes during elections,” he added.