Congress “bows to Miya supremacy”, dares to equate namghar with mosque: Assam BJP

The Assam unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, March 2 accused the Congress of “mortgaging Assam’s civilizational dignity” and surrendering to what it termed as “Miya supremacy.” The ruling party alleged that the Congress has compromised indigenous rights and identity politics in pursuit of vote-bank appeasement, triggering a fresh war of words in the state’s already charged electoral climate.

Addressing the media at the BJP headquarters, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan in Guwahati, Assam BJP spokesperson Ranjib Kumar Sarmah launched a scathing attack on the Congress, claiming that the party had entered the electoral battlefield after “sacrificing Assam’s pride at the altar of Miya appeasement.”

Sarmah alleged that recent public statements by Congress leaders promising reinstatement of individuals evicted from government and forest lands amounted to a political surrender before “Miya supremacist forces.” He further asserted that under the leadership of Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress was deploying its political machinery to establish what he described as “Miya dominance” within Assam’s socio-cultural framework.

Referring to the Congress’ “New Greater Assam” slogan, Sarmah claimed that the party had conceded ideological ground and was prioritizing appeasement politics over what he termed as national integrity and civilizational responsibility.

In contrast, he highlighted the land reclamation drive undertaken by the BJP-led government under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, stating that the administration has resolved to free five lakh bighas of land from alleged illegal encroachment over the next five years. According to Sarmah, nearly 1.5 lakh bighas have already been cleared, which he described as an “unprecedented benchmark in decisive governance.”

The BJP spokesperson accused the Congress of opposing eviction drives aimed at reclaiming land from encroachers and alleged that during previous Congress regimes, large tracts of Satras, forest reserves and indigenous ancestral lands were encroached upon. He further claimed that the present government has coupled eviction efforts with rehabilitation initiatives for indigenous communities.

Sarmah also criticized the Congress’ election campaign song, alleging that it equates the sacred Namghar — described by him as the spiritual nucleus of Assamese identity — with a mosque. Calling the comparison “deeply offensive,” he termed it an affront to Assam’s socio-cultural ethos.

He alleged that Congress campaign materials and manifestos contain assurances aimed at consolidating Miya constituencies and accused the party of attempting to institutionalize what he described as “Miya political dominance” in the state.