Governor’s speech: BJP has no moral right to criticize us, says Congress MLC BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: The verbal tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party Karnataka unit and the Congress over Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot limiting his address before the Legislature on Thursday to just two sentences has continued, with senior Congress MLC BK Hariprasad sharing on his Facebook page earlier instances of what he called misbehavior by the BJP in the House.
Hariprasad on Thursday opined on the social media page that the BJP Karnataka had no moral right to comment on discipline, dignity and honour of the Legislature and cited episodes related to the objectionable behavior by the Opposition party members.
“Which party was it, whose members tore clothes in the House and joined hands and behaved like gangsters? Which party did the people who watched blue films in the House instead of discussing the serious problems in the state, thereby shaming the state before the nation, belong to? To which party did the people who tore documents and threw them on the face of the Speaker only to be suspended belong to?” he asked in his post.
“Does the BJP have the courage to say with pride that these people, with such discipline, culture, dignity and honour, are its members?” Hariprasad has added.
He further said that the state was going through a dark phase in its political history as the BJP had been misusing the Constitutional powers of the Governor.
“The Governor enjoys his power from the tax-payers’ money and not from the free money that goes to an unregistered organization in Nagpur. We will continue to defend our rights, be it against the Governor or any other person in a Constitutional post, who acts against the Constitution,” he said, and added, “We are not so deprived of morality that we have to learn it from the BJP. Congress will never face such a day.”
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
