Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has blamed the ‘Miya’ Muslim community for the inflated price of vegetables in the state.
“The vegetable rates are lower in the rural areas; however, the prices are increased when they are brought to the urban places,” he said. The Chief Minister claimed that all the sellers have been increasing the rates and most of them are “Miya” people.
“They (East Bengal origin Muslims) have been taking high prices from the Assamese people. In Guwahati, ‘Miya’ people have taken control of the local vegetable markets,” Sarma said on Thursday evening, adding that if an Assamese youth would have been selling the vegetables, he could not take inflated prices from other Assamese fellow citizens.
“I urge the Assamese youths to come forward and I assure you that I would drive away all the ‘Miya’ Muslim vegetable sellers from the city,” Sarma said.
He further said that starting from cab to bus services, a majority of people are now this section (Miya) of Muslim people in Assam.
Miya Muslims are descendants of migrant Bengali Muslims who lived in the Brahmaputra Valley during the British colonialism of Assam in the 20th century…
This story was originally published in siasat.com. Read the full story here