Wide protest from media bodies against CM Himanta Biswa Sarma for targeting scribe’s religious identity

GUWAHATI: Media organisations in Assam on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for allegedly targeting a journalist’s religious identity.

During a media interaction on Wednesday, journalist Shah Alam, who is a Muslim, had asked Sarma if the state government had taken any action against the flattening of hills at Mandakata falling under his Jalukbari constituency.

In his response, Sarma asked Alam to share video footage of the hill cutting if he had, stating that if there is hill cutting, it has to be stopped. At the same time, he said the Mandakata hill cutting could not be a reason for the flash floods in Guwahati.

He then suddenly asked the scribe his name and associated it with the Muslim owner-cum-chancellor of a private university in Meghalaya located on the outskirts of Guwahati.

“Will Assamese be there in the state in future? The most discussed issue is demographic changes,” Sarma, who had recently blamed the private university for the flash floods in Guwahati, said.

The Journalists’ Union of Assam slammed him for the “personal attack” on Alam.

“Instead of answering the query from the journalist, the chief minister referred to his religious identity,” the union said in a joint statement issued by its president Samim Sultana Ahmed and general secretary Dhanjit Kumar Das.

They said the attack on the journalist based on his religion was not expected from a chief minister.

The Gauhati Press Club noted with concern increasing instances of “disparaging responses by political leaders” when journalists ask them questions, as part of the job, during press interactions.

Raijor Dal chief and MLA Akhil Gogoi also hit out at Sarma.

“It was an insult not just to Shah Alam but to the media fraternity and humanity as well. The chief minister proved with his assertions that he is communal and xenophobic,” Gogoi said.

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