Indian state’s CM faces police complaint over anti-Muslim remarks

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A prominent Indian human rights activist has filed a police complaint against Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of India’s northeastern state of Assam, accusing him of making public statements that promote hatred, harassment and mass disenfranchisement of Bengali-speaking Muslims.

The complaint was filed by Harsh Mander, a former civil servant and well-known rights advocate, at a police station in New Delhi. It seeks registration of a criminal case under multiple provisions of India’s new criminal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, citing alleged incitement to discrimination, criminal intimidation and abuse of official authority.

Sarma — a senior leader of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and one of the most influential Hindu nationalist politicians in the country — has in recent days openly targeted Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, repeatedly referring to them as “Miyas,” a term widely regarded as derogatory. At a public event on Jan. 27, he said his government was prepared to “trouble,” “harm” and “make suffer” members of the community.

According to the complaint, Sarma encouraged social harassment and administrative exclusion of Bengali-speaking Muslims during Assam’s ongoing revision of electoral rolls. He publicly claimed that “400,000 to 500,000 Miya voters” would be removed from voter lists and stated that it was his responsibility to ensure hardship for the community so that they would “leave Assam.”

Sarma also admitted, according to the complaint, that he had directed members of his party to file objections against Bengali-speaking Muslims during the voter list revision process. “We are ensuring that they cannot vote in Assam,” he told reporters, responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Muslims during the claims and objections phase.

While the Election Commission of India is conducting a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in several parts of the country, Assam is currently undergoing a separate revision exercise. Sarma nevertheless indicated that a future intensive revision would be used to remove hundreds of thousands of Muslim voters, signalling indifference to legal or political criticism.

Mander’s complaint argues that such statements, delivered by a sitting chief minister at official events, carry the authority of the state and risk emboldening both officials and private actors to engage in unlawful discrimination. It warns that the remarks threaten constitutional rights, including the right to vote and livelihood, and endanger communal harmony and public order.

The complaint further states that Sarma’s speech constitutes cognizable criminal offences under Indian law, making registration of a police case mandatory. It argues that calling for the collective punishment and disenfranchisement of a religious and linguistic minority amounts to incitement to hostility and deliberate targeting of a protected group.

Sarma has a long record of inflammatory rhetoric directed at Muslims in Assam, where citizenship, migration and voter eligibility have been politically weaponized for years. Rights groups say his remarks represent a broader pattern in which state power is used to legitimize exclusion and normalize hate under administrative processes.