‘Language not a crime’: Congress MLA targets BJP over Miya-Muslim narrative and voter list row

Congress MLA Rakibuddin Ahmed on January 27 launched a sharp attack on the BJP over what he described as divisive politics targeting the Miya-Muslim community, while also raising serious concerns over the recent incident at the Boko-Chaygaon Co-District Commissioner’s office involving alleged irregularities in the voter list.

Speaking to the media at Goraimari in Chamaria constituency, Ahmed reacted strongly to the ongoing political narrative surrounding Miya-Muslims, asserting that Assam has historically been home to diverse ethnic and religious communities living together peacefully. He said attempts to single out or stigmatise any community on religious or linguistic grounds were detrimental to the state’s social fabric.

The Congress legislator rejected claims that equate the Bengali language with Bangladeshi identity, calling such arguments baseless. He pointed out that Bengali is widely spoken in several parts of India, including Tripura, Hojai and West Bengal, and said language cannot be used as a criterion to label anyone as an outsider. Ahmed accused the BJP of deliberately creating divisions along caste and community lines for political gain, while maintaining that the Congress has never pursued such a strategy.

Ahmed also referred to the incident at the Boko-Chaygaon Co-District Commissioner’s office, which reportedly took place on the night of January 22 and came to public attention later in the week. He alleged that BJP leaders were involved in the addition and deletion of names from the electoral rolls, calling it a serious violation of democratic norms.

Linking the incident to broader concerns over electoral integrity, Ahmed said it lent weight to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s earlier allegations of vote manipulation. He claimed the events reflected a pattern of electoral malpractice and warned that such actions could undermine public trust in the democratic process.

The MLA said the Congress has already approached the Election Commission seeking a thorough investigation into the matter. He asserted that the party would continue to pursue the issue and would not remain silent in the face of what it considers attempts to influence elections through unfair means.