Jamiat chief urges CJI to take suo motu action over Assam CM’s ‘Miya Muslim’ remarks

NEW DELHI — Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Saturday urged Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud to take suo motu action over Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s ‘Miya Muslims’ remarks, asserting that they constitute a “blatant betrayal of constitutional principles”.

Jamiat president Maulana Mahmood Madani has written a letter to the CJI, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda, highlighting the “series of unconstitutional remarks” made by the Assam chief minister and calling for immediate action, a statement by the prominent Muslim body said.

The Jamiat chief has expressed grave concern over the recent “anti-Muslim” remarks made by Sarma, it said.

Madani emphasized that these statements are not only highly inappropriate but also constitute a “blatant betrayal of constitutional principles”.

He also urged the CJI to take suo moto action to put an end to these divisive comments.

Madani pointed out that the role of the chief minister, as defined by the Constitution, mandates impartiality and justice for all citizens.

“However, Chief Minister Sarma continues to disregard these fundamental responsibilities. In a recent assembly session, the chief minister brazenly declared, ‘I will take a side; this is my ideology’, and further added, ‘I will not allow Miya Muslims to take over Assam’,” the Jamiat statement said.

These “inflammatory statements” come at a time when more than “thirty groups of miscreants” in Upper Assam have threatened Bengali Muslims to vacate the region, the Jamiat claimed.

Madani underscored that in such sensitive times, it is crucial for the chief minister to work towards fostering communal harmony rather than emboldening such miscreants with divisive rhetoric.

He warned that Sarma’s statements are likely to exacerbate social unrest and deepen the already existing ethnic and religious divides in Assam.

Furthermore, Madani noted that by referring to a linguistic and religious minority as “Miya” in a derogatory manner, the chief minister is attempting to relegate them to the status of second-class citizens, the statement said.

Additionally, by making unfounded claims such as Assam becoming a Muslim-majority state by 2041, and labelling any form of dissent as “jihad”, the chief minister is “spreading hatred and communal venom”, the Jamiat said.

Also read: Qazis can’t register Muslim marriages in Assam anymore — CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

In his letter, Madani mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment at the beginning of his third term, when he stated the Constitution was our guiding principle.

Asserting that he would take sides, Sarma on Tuesday had said he would not let ‘Miya’ Muslims “take over” Assam.

Sarma was speaking in the assembly on the admissibility of adjournment motions moved by the opposition parties to discuss the law and order situation in the state in the wake of the gangrape of a 14-year-old girl in Nagaon.