INDIA alliance complains to EC about Assam CM Himanta Sarma’s Islamophobic speech in Jharkhand : Valley Vision

The INDIA alliance leaders on Saturday filed a formal complaint against Assam Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, accusing him of making “inflammatory and divisive” remarks against Muslims during a campaign rally in Jharkhand.

The complaint claimed Sarma’s rhetoric was designed to fuel communal tensions ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections on November 13 and 20.

In a November 1 speech in Sarath, Sarma suggested that Muslims tended to vote for a single party while the Hindu vote was divided across parties. The Hindutva leader also suggested that the state’s Hemant Soren-led government “invites infiltrators” due to voting loyalties from “a special community.”

INDIA bloc leaders, including those from the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, alleged that Sarma’s repeated use of words like “infiltrators” is part of a strategy to paint Muslims as outsiders and heighten existing social divides for political advantage.

Sarma’s remarks were “venomous” and aimed at creating “a civil war-like situation” in Jharkhand, violating the principles of free and fair elections, said the letter.

“He is knowingly colouring all the people of a particular religious minority in one shade and portraying all of them to be infiltrators so as to…break the social fabric of the state of Jharkhand,” read the letter.

The INDIA bloc said it would pursue legal recourse if no action is taken against Sarma within 24 hours.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader and Hussainabad candidate Kushwaha Shivpujan Mehta filed a separate complaint in court accusing Sarma of disturbing communal harmony with his comments at a rally in the constituency.

The chief minister Sarma has been accused of delivering hate and genocidal speeches against Muslims.