Gauhati High Court issues notice to Assam CM in PILs alleging hate speech
The Gauhati High Court on Thursday issued a notice to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in connection with a bunch of PILs, accusing him of giving “hate speech” and making “communal comments” against the ‘Miya’ community. Notices were also issued to the State Government and the DGP in connection with three different petitions on the matter.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury heard the three petitions.
The court fixed March 21 as the next date of hearing. The Court at one point remarked that the speeches of Sarma cited by the petitioners did show a “fissiparous tendency.”
One petition was filed by Assamese litterateur Hiren Gohain, former DGP Harekrishna Deka and senior journalist Paresh Malakar on February 24.
The CPI and CPI(M) had also filed separate petitions on February 21, seeking to restrain the CM from making such comments. Adv. CU Singh, arguing for the petitioners, told the Court that Sarma had openly said that he would steal Miya Muslim votes (“vote chori”) and that many Muslim voters will be deleted from the voter’s list.
“Each and every statement, they don’t co-locate with the earlier statement. What's vote chori, why we call it chori, we want to steal votes’ — these appear to be blusters. Other statements you can say, but not every part of it. There is a fissiparous tendency, it appears, from what you are showing. Let us see what they are saying,” the Chief Justice observed.
The Supreme Court on February 16 refused to entertain petitions seeking action against Sarma over a viral video purportedly showing him taking aim and firing with a rifle at members of a particular community.
The apex court asked the petitioners to approach the High Court.
