The signatories said the CM’s statements against the ‘Miya’ community promote dehumanisation, discrimination and social hostility, undermining secular constitutional values.
They also objected to alleged directions to BJP workers to target Bengali-speaking Muslims during the Special Revision of electoral rolls.
Calling for suo motu intervention, the citizens urged the court to protect the community’s dignity and uphold the rule of law.
Over 40 prominent citizens, including academicians, doctors, writers and retired bureaucrats, have urged the Gauhati High Court to take suo motu cognisance of recent remarks by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma against Bengali-speaking Muslims, saying such statements amount to hate speech and constitutional violations.
In a letter addressed to Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar on Thursday, the signatories said the CM’s public comments against the ‘Miya’ community involved dehumanisation, collective stigmatisation and executive intimidation. They warned that inaction against such remarks could undermine the moral authority of the Constitution.
The citizens noted that Bengali-speaking Muslims have been part of Assamese society for over a century, and argued that Sarma’s statements crossed constitutional limits by encouraging discrimination and social hostility. They cited, among other instances, the CM’s reported remark urging people to pay less than the actual fare to rickshaw pullers from the community. PTI reported.
They also flagged Sarma’s alleged directions to BJP workers to file objections targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims during the ongoing Special Revision of electoral rolls, arguing that a constitutionally mandated, quasi-judicial process could not be turned into a partisan or communal exercise.
The letter emphasised that a chief minister’s oath requires governance without prejudice, and said publicly singling out a religious community for economic deprivation, heightened scrutiny and exclusion violated this principle. The signatories said the remarks were contrary to secularism, a basic feature of the Constitution, and promoted enmity between communities.
Calling it a fit case for the court’s suo motu intervention, the citizens urged the high court to direct authorities to register cases related to hate speech, executive overreach and violations of fundamental rights. They also sought the court’s intervention to protect the dignity, equality and security of the affected community and to uphold public confidence in constitutional governance and the rule of law.
(With inputs from PTI)
