'Hate speeches' targeting Assam see no end

GUWAHATI, Dec 4: Hate speeches are the latest lethal weapons that the people of Assam have been targeted to. After Arshad Madani, came Debatanu Battacharjee, a me not known to the people of the State till December 2 when he delivered a ‘hate speech’ at Silchar.  

At a time when the State is limping back to normalcy after a ‘hate speech’ delivered by Jaimat Ulama-e-Hind president Arshad Madani at Delhi rocked it thoroughly, such a speech delivered by Debatanu has stirred up the bad omen to raise its ugly head in the State.

Debatanu, the all India president of the Hindu Sanghati Mancha, appealed to all Hindus to ‘take arms and weapons in their hands targeting religious minorities in the State’ at a public meeting at Silchar in South Assam on Saturday. With the ‘hate speech’ being covered by a section of print and electronic media, the intention of the speech – promoting enmity among different religious groups in the State – is set to be served the best possible way. 

The speech has been reacted to sharply by a number of organizations in the State, leading many of them to lodge FIRs and file cases in various police stations across Assam. The Opposition Congress in Assam has demanded Dispur to file a case on its own against Debatanu, to ensure his arrest.

Reacting to the ‘hate speech’, the All Assam Goria-Moriya Yuba-Chatra Parishad lodged an FIR against Debatanu at Hatigaon police station in Guwahati on December 3, demanding his immediate arrest.

All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU), which filed cases in a number of police stations across the State, demanded Dispur to arrest Debatanu within 24 hours. “The speech is aimed at disturbing peace in Assam,” said AAMSU secretary Ikbal Hussain, while reacting to the speech sharply.  Muslim Students’ Union of Assam (MUSA) filed a case at Dhekiajuli police station on Monday against Debatanu.  

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), on the other hand, drew a comparison between the hate speech delivered by Debatanu with the one delivered by Arshad Madani. “Debatanu’s speech is ten-time more commul than the one delivered by Madani,” the State PCC said in a statement issued to the press on Monday. It also demanded that Dispur should file a case on its own against Debatanu to ensure his arrest.