Guwahati: The Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress on Saturday lodged a police complaint against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for allegedly making hate speech while campaigning in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh recently.
According to the complaint lodged by Mahila Congress President Mira Barthakur Goswami at the Dispur police station, Sarma allegedly challenged former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Kamal Nath to set fire to 10 Janpath in Delhi, just as Lord Hanuman did to Lanka in the Ramayana.
10 Janpath happens to be the official residence of former Congress Presiden Sonia Gandhi.
Addressing a Jan Ashirwad rally in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidhisha district on September 19, Sarma had said that members of the opposition INDIA bloc made statements comparing the Hindu religion (Sanatan Dharma) to malaria.
“I want to challenge Kamal Nath who claims to be a true Hanuman Bhakt. Hanuman had burnt Lanka, you should also burn 10 Janpath. Those who are giving statements against Hinduism, you should remove such people otherwise you should burn 10 Janpath,” Sarma had reportedly said.
Goswami claimed on Saturday that the suggestion to burn down 10 Janpath was an open invitation to the public to indulge in arson and riots by using Hindu religious sentiments.
“Even though the statement was made in Madhya Pradesh, it had been widely disseminated in print, electronic, and social media in Assam,” she said.
The complaint mentioned, “The effects of the instigation of communal hatred and violent activities will definitely affect the sentiments of the people of Assam and disrupt the peaceful atmosphere of the state as well as the whole country in the name of religion.”
Meanwhile, Rupam Hazarika, the officer in-charge of Dispur police station, said that the police have launched a probe and they would decide whether to file an FIR later.
On Thursday, Congress’ Debabrata Saikia, the Leader of Opposition in Assam Assembly, had also filed a complaint against Sarma at the Nazira police station in Sivasagar district for his alleged comments on 10 Janpath, but no FIR has been registered by the police yet.
–IANS