Assam CM rejects communal charge, accuses Congress of appeasing illegal migrants

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 3 strongly rejected allegations of communal politics against his government, instead accusing the Assam Congress of sheltering “foreign infiltrators” and indulging in appeasement.

Addressing reporters, Sarma said it was the opposition that was practising divisive politics while questioning the state government’s stance on protecting Assamese identity. “Foreign infiltrators are sitting in the lap of Assam Congress, and these people have the audacity to say that we do the politics of appeasement?” he said.

Referring to Assam’s historical legacy, the chief minister questioned how invoking Lachit Borphukan and the sacrifices of martyrs could be labelled communal. “Lachit’s hengdang and walking the path of martyrs — how can that be communal? Please explain this to me,” Sarma said. “We are not doing communal politics. They are appeasing Miyas from Bangladesh. Is that not communal politics?”

He stressed that Assamese identity includes people of all faiths. “Assamese means everyone, Hindus and Muslims alike. We are talking about protecting Assamese identity,” he said, adding that those who seek to “bring foreigners from Bangladesh into the heart of Assam” were, in his view, “both communal and anti-national”.

Sarma also linked the issue to the Assam Movement, recalling the sacrifices made during the agitation. “Was it not for this cause that 860 martyrs sacrificed their lives? It was for this very cause that Lachit took up the hengdang,” he said, asserting that his government was engaged in “constructive work” rooted in that legacy.

The remarks come amid an intensifying political debate in the state over illegal immigration, identity, and accusations of communal polarisation ahead of upcoming electoral battles.