BDF responds to "communal remarks" of former Hojai MLA Shiladitya Dev

Hojai’s former MLA and BJP leader Shiladitya Dev recently came to Barak Valley and made “extreme communal remarks” creating tension in the region. Chief Convenor of Barak Democratic Front expressed his reaction on the issue.

In a press release, BDF Chief Convener Pradip Dutta Roy said that they had no issues in the meetings held by former MLA Shiladitya Dev in Barak’s three districts recently as an advisor to the All Assam Bangali Parishad. But many people are angry about the way he made communal statements regarding Hindus and Muslims in these meetings to the media. Dutta Roy said that at first they decided not to give any importance to him, but later they were compelled to open their mouth on public demand. He asserted that Shiladitya Dev always made extreme communal comments since he became an MLA. One of his tasks is to vilify Muslims and probably for this task he has been kept in the BJP. Dutta Roy believed that the provocative comments he made in Barak this time seemed like he came here to start communal riots.

BDF Chief Convener said that Barak Valley is an island of peace. Here, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Bengalis, Tribals are living together in peace. Many efforts of division are being resisted by the conscious people of the region. So the people of Barak will not accept this kind of divisive politics by Shiladitya Dev under any circumstances.

Dutta Roy also asked if Shiladitya Dev is so sympathetic to Hindus, then why is he completely silent about the 12 lakh Hindu Bengalis who have been left out of NRC and whose Aadhaar cards have been freezed for so long. His party passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill in both Parliaments for the benefit of Bengali Hindus but did not implement it for years – why does he not say anything in this regard? Why does he keep his mouth shut when innocent Bengali Hindus are repeatedly given D voter notices? If Bengali Hindu candidates are deliberately deprived of government jobs in Assam, why does he not speak about them? The BDF Chief Convenor also advised Shiladitya Dev not to do brokerage (dalali) in Barak Valley but to pay attention to the interests of eighty lakh Bengalis living in Brahmaputra Valley.

The BDF Chief Convener also observed that Shiladitya Dev came to Silchar and said Barak’s Bengali Hindus are suffering because non-Indians are terrorizing them. Dutta Roy sternly countered him by saying that the people of Barak Valley will never accept a person who advises them to forget the sacrifices of the 11 Bengali language martyrs despite being a Bengali himself nor would they accept someone who says that the Barak-Brahmaputra divide will increase if Silchar Station is named as Bhasha Shahid Station. He can’t even gather ten thousand people to march with him let alone one lakh people. Therefore, the BDF Chief Convener advised Shiladitya Dev not to intervene in the affairs of Barak Valley in the future.

Convener Hrishikesh Dey informed this news in a press release on behalf of BDF Media Cell.