During an commerce with intelligencers, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma sarcastically asked a scribe belonging to the nonage community if “ his people ” would let them live in Assam.
The discussion passed on August 21 after a meeting on the Rajya Sabha nomination process held at the Assam legislative assembly.
intelligencer Shah Alam, who works in a original news portal News Now, raised a question on the incessant cutting down of hills being reported from Sarma’s Jalukbari assembly constituency.
Sarma, known for his Islamophobic reflections, answered Alam’s question stating there's no connection between the reports on the cutting down of hills and cataracts caused by a Meghalaya- grounded University of Science and Technology( USTM).
On August 13, Sarma indicted the university of the reason behind the flash flood tide in Guwahati. He nominated the incident as “ flood tide jihad ”. When Alam continued to press his question again, Sarma enquired about his name. The moment Alam revealed his name, Sarma said, “ Oh! You people, like Shah Alam and USTM owner Mahbubul Hoque have all combined the issues that have come a big question for our Assamese community whether we can survive. ”
“ Shah Alam and the rest should be asked whether we can live, strive and continue our actuality. You people have combined all the issues together and this itself poses an important question whether people like me and others will be suitable to live in Assam. The issue is n't about green cover, but the bigger issue is the demography change, and there should be a discussion about whether people like Shah Alam and Mahbubul Hoque will permit us to live then, ” Sarma continued.
Shocked, says intelligencer The incident has left Alam shocked and surprised. “ There were other news reports done by other news outlets or doors. It was a jolt out of the blue. I noway imagined that he'd intimately mock me over my religious identity, ” Alam told The Wire.
Alam refocused out that performing a intelligencer’s duty has come a huge bone of contention for governments and politicians. “ They only want news that they want to hear and find it uncomfortable to answer delicate questions. I've noway seen similar incidents where a intelligencer was brought under a scanner of religious identity by a sitting chief minister of a state, ” he said.
Deep concern Gauhati Press Club Replying to the incident, the Gauhati Press Club has expressed deep concern.
In a released statement, the press club stated, “ In the rearmost case, the honourable chief minister pulled the religious identity of a intelligencer into environment without any apparent applicability during a press commerce on August 21. The Gauhati Press Club expresses deep concern at such an incident. We prompt all political leaders to insure no rush of similar cases in the future and show quality to their position as well as the part of the media. ”
The Press Club of India also advanced its support to Alam. “ The Press Club of India extends support to the statement issued by the Gauhati Press Club over Assam Chief Minister’s comment, targeting a intelligencer’s religious identity, ” it said in a statement.
