“Who is Himanta Biswa Sarma to decide who will go to the detention camps?”: Sushmita Dev

National President of Mahila Congress said Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent speech in Silchar, as reported, was communal and improper.

People of Barak Valley refuse to forget the famous lines used by Narendra Modi during his election campaigns. In front of lakhs of ‘Modi-fied’ Barakians, Modi in his charismatic manner had announced, “He and his party would demolish and decimate the detention camps in Assam.”

His speeches worked, BJP emerged as the single largest party with an absolute majority in both Assam and Centre in respective elections. However, the same BJP government is commissioning new larger size detention camps to accommodate more detainees. More than 19 lakh individuals who had applied to get enrolled in the National Register of Citizens got rejected. The fear among people is that they would be forced into the detention camps.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, finance, health and PWD Minister, Government of Assam who is often called the Amit Shah of East had addressed a gathering in Barak Valley a couple of days back. He said that the new detention camps are not for Hindus, no Hindus will be sent to detention camps.

The following day, leading daily broadsheets in Barak Valley reported in Bengali which translates to, “Detention Camps are being built for the Muslims.” This quote was attributed to Himanta Biswa Sarma by the newspaper.

National President, Mahila Congress and former Silchar MP, Sushmita Dev uploaded a paper cutting with Sarma’s quote on her social media platform. Along with the image she also criticised Sarma’s statement. She wrote, “The NRC was about who came before or after 24th March 1971. The religion of the applicant was never considered. BJP is communalising the NRC. It has no plausible explanation on why so many genuine citizens have been left out.”

About Biswa Sarma’s speech, she wrote, “Himanta Biswa Sarma’s recent speech in Silchar, as reported, was communal and improper. Who is he to decide who will go to the detention camps? The legal system will determine the way forward. The laws of our country treat everyone equally.”

Not only the former MP, but some BJP associates are also irked at the state leadership. Yesterday, NELECC (Northeastern Linguistic Ethnic Coordination Committee) held a massive demonstration in all three districts of Barak Valley. As per the NELECC members, more than 15,000 individuals from all parts of Cachar joined the rally in Silchar. They say the number was huge in Karimganj and Hailakandi too.

NELECC, which says it’s backed by the ‘Sangh Parivar’, before the general election was considered as an arm of the BJP. All its senior members had publicly endorsed the BJP candidates and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the two newly elected MPs in Barak Valley have just completed their first 100 days, they have become the target of their own associates.

Yesterday, during NELECC’s massive protest against the government’s decision to ignore the joint Gazette notification in Assam. The notification issued in 2015 says safeguards the persecuted minorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The spokesperson yesterday took a jibe at the BJP leaders in the Valley and said, “The ones who voted for them, their family members are in detention camps. These leaders forgot their promise and are now busy cutting ribbons and laying the foundation stones. If we can elect them and send them to Parliament we can change them too.”

Their primary concern was that the BJP leaders in Barak Valley are not coming out clear with their stand. They are also irked because the local leaders are not taking a stand on implementing the notification. NELECC believes that the notification if implemented will safeguard at least 14 lakh NRC rejects.

Overall, BJP is at the crosshair of not only the opposition but also associates. The party’s leaders to hold on to their ground in the region is now promising to pass the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016, in the winter session of Parliament. It remains to be seen if it turns true.