Only ‘Miyas’ facing trouble in voter roll revision, claims Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on January 27 claimed that the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in the state has not caused any difficulty to Assamese people, asserting that only Bengali-speaking Muslims, commonly referred to as ‘Miyas’, are facing problems during the exercise.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Digboi, Sarma said that those facing hardship during the revision process do not belong to Assam and should not be allowed to vote in the state. He alleged that the SR was only the first step and that a future Special Intensive Revision (SIR) would lead to the cancellation of four to five lakh votes of Muslims allegedly from Bangladesh.

The Chief Minister used the term ‘Miya’, which is widely regarded as derogatory and is used to describe Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, many of whom trace their ancestry to erstwhile East Bengal.

Sarma claimed that the government was deliberately putting pressure on this section of voters to prevent them from participating in elections in Assam. He asserted that there were no issues for Assamese people or Assamese Muslims during the SR, and questioned why the government should be concerned if the ‘Miyas’ were facing difficulties.

The Chief Minister further alleged that Bengali-speaking Muslims were gradually expanding their presence into Upper Assam districts such as Duliajan, Digboi and Tinsukia. Citing a land sale list from Tinsukia, Sarma claimed that more Hindus were selling land while more ‘Miya’ Muslims were purchasing property, calling for caution to prevent demographic changes.

He also said that he was unconcerned about criticism from the Congress, stating that his responsibility was to ensure that those he described as illegal voters were prevented from voting in Assam.

Earlier, Sarma had stated that notices under the SR process were being issued only to ‘Miyas’ in order to keep them under pressure, claiming that no Hindus or Assamese Muslims had been served notices.

Opposition parties, however, have accused the BJP of misusing the SR exercise to harass genuine citizens, particularly religious minorities. They alleged that Form 7 is being used by party workers to target bona fide voters. Under election rules, Form 7 allows voters to apply for deletion of names from electoral rolls on grounds such as death, shifting residence, duplicate enrolment, underage status, or lack of Indian citizenship.

The Election Commission of India has stated that the SR was ordered to ensure an error-free electoral roll. The Integrated Draft Roll was published on December 27, with claims and objections accepted until January 22. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on February 10.

The SR exercise in Assam is being conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court as part of a long-pending citizenship verification process, with the state having special provisions under the Citizenship Act.