Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on August 27 warned of legal action against former Planning Commission member and social activist Syeda Hameed, who has come under fire for making remarks in favour of Bangladeshi migrants, if she visits the north-eastern state.
While addressing a press conference, Sarma ruled out the possibility of filing an FIR against Hameed and said that it would only “enrich” her. However, he stated that it would be a different matter if someone else filed one.
“I don’t think we should file any FIR against her because she will collect contributions from different parts of the country to fight the cases. She will be only enriched. If she comes back to Assam, we will do whatever is required. As of now, I am not thinking of any FIR. If some people give FIR, it is a different matter. But if she comes back to Assam again, she will be handled with due respect, but as per law,” Sarma said.
Sarma was responding to a question that cited Hameed’s statement in yesterday’s event in Delhi, where she remarked, “Assam has become like a Frankenstein, like a monster. This has become a dangerous place.”
On August 26, a group of people, including members of the Hindu Sena, stormed the venue of the event, carrying placards and chanting slogans such as “Bharat Mata ki Jai,” “Jai Shri Ram,” and “Bangladeshiyon ko bahar nikalo,” and so on, forcing a brief commotion.
Former IAS officer Harsh Mander was also present at the event on the evictions and detentions in Assam, organised at the Constitution Club of India by a “People’s Tribunal” on Assam. Hameed’s remarks, made earlier in a video, had triggered the controversy.
In the viral video, Hameed is heard saying, “What is wrong with being Bangladeshi? Bangladeshis are humans too, and the world is so big; they can live here (in India). They are not depriving anyone of their rights. Saying that they are depriving someone of their rights is troublesome, extremely mischievous and detrimental to humanity.” Her remarks, which went viral on social media on Sunday, have drawn sharp criticism.
Responding to the ruckus created by the protesters on Tuesday, Syeda Hameed said that there was a need to remain conscious while fearing the spread of such a crowd, causing disruptions.
“A crowd had entered here. I was a small kid at the time of the partition, but the intensity of that crowd (that entered the venue)… Constitution Club is such a dignified setting, and then a crowd suddenly burst in, giving me a flashback of what my parents and others experienced in Panipat during the partition. I fear that this will spread to the whole of India. That is something which we have to be very conscious of,” Hameed later said while addressing a press conference.
(With inputs from ANI)
