Assam CM Himanta urges citizens to respond to SR notices without fuss

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said citizens served notices during the ongoing Special Revision SR of electoral rolls in the state should appear before authorities without creating any fuss. Stating that Bangladeshi Miyas live in Assam, the CM had said more than 5 lakh complaints have been filed by BJP workers during the SR process against such foreigners.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said citizens served notices during the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in the state should appear before authorities without creating any fuss. The CM said he will also present his credentials before the election authorities if any complaint against him through Form 7 is filed. Opposition parties have alleged that the SR exercise is being used to harass genuine citizens, mostly religious minorities, by ''BJP agents'', with Form 7 being used to file complaints against bona fide voters. ''The SR is a constitutional process. If notice is served, one can go and say they are Indians. The issue ends there. What is there to cry about,'' Sarma said, speaking to reporters on sidelines of a government programme in Goalpara district. Sarma asserted that he will also appear for hearing before the relevant authorities if anyone files complaint through Form 7 against him. ''We are not kings or emperors. All are equal in a democracy,'' he added. The chief minister also chided people who approached the media after receiving notices during the SR process. ''They should have kept the notice in their pockets and cleared their names by going to the authorities. If they would have not shown it to reporters, no one would have known about it,'' Sarma said, dismissing a section of people who projected receiving notice as an 'insult'. By using Form 7, one can request for deletion of own's name for any of three reasons – permanently shifted, already enrolled or not Indian citizen. Similarly, any voter of that constituency can apply for deletion of names of others on basis of any of five reasons –death, under age, absent/ permanently shifted, already enrolled, or not Indian citizen. Hearing is conducted by the authorities on the basis on Form 7 applications before deletion of names. He indicated that only 'Miyas' (Bengali-speaking Muslims) are being served notices during the voter revision drive in the state as a tactic to 'keep them under pressure'. 'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and the non-Bengali speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance. Stating that ''Bangladeshi Miyas'' live in Assam, the CM had said more than 5 lakh complaints have been filed by BJP workers during the SR process against such ''foreigners''.

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