Assam Special Revision row: Himanta says deleting names of 'illegal Miyas' duty of BJP

Dhemaji/Dhakuakhana/Guwahati, Jan 7 (PTI) Amid allegations of "irregularities" in the draft voter rolls published after the Special Revision (SR), Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said preparing a correct list is "BJP’s agenda" in order to delete the names of Bangladeshis and "illegal Miyas." The state has registered a 1.35 per cent increase in voters according to the integrated draft electoral rolls for the state published on December 30 after the SR.

"Correct voter list is BJP's agenda. Otherwise, what have we done to delete Bangladeshi names from voter lists? There is nothing to hide that retrieving land from Bangladeshis is our agenda," Sarma told reporters.

A political controversy has erupted after Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi alleged that state BJP chief and MP Dilip Saikia directed party leaders to delete 10,000 valid "anti-BJP votes" from 60 assembly constituencies, a charge the ruling party has strongly denied.

"Is it not our responsibility to check that illegal Miyas' names are not included in the voter lists. Checking that our lands are not under the control of illegal Miyas is our duty. People had voted for us to do these works only," Sarma said.

'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam and the non-Bengali speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.

Asked about Gogoi's allegations, Sarma said, "Akhil Gogoi does a lot of entertainment, and he does not know the rules. You (journalists) watch his press meets and Facebook live after the day's work at night, you will enjoy it as entertainment." He added that if there is any doubtful citizen, every Indian citizen can complain by filling form Nos 6, 7 and 8 before the Election Commission.

"But the names will not be automatically removed. First a notice will be sent and a reply will be filed. Every political party appoints booth-level agents (BLA) so that he can assist in the correction of the voter list," Sarma said.

He explained that if anyone is deceased, his name will be removed. If anyone has two entries, the name from one place will be deleted.

"Otherwise, Rahul Gandhi will hold a press conference to allege that names were present in two places. That is why a correct voter list is a duty of every political party. I will appeal to Congress also to help the government in deleting the names of the deceased," the CM said.

Meanwhile, Saikia in a press conference in Guwahati launched a scathing attack on Gogoi and denied the allegations made by the opposition leader.

"Akhil Gogoi has no moral or political strength. He is trying to fool the people. The demand for a correct and error-free voters' list is legitimate and essential for democracy," the Lok Sabha MP said.

He further accused Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi of being "excessively sympathetic" towards illegal immigrants and alleged that Akhil Gogoi shares the same mindset.

Saikia also clubbed Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi with them, stating that all the three share a "dangerous mindset" that could harm the state.

According to Akhil Gogoi, Dilip Saikia in a video conference on January 4 evening allegedly directed Assam Minister Ashok Singhal to take charge of voter list "corrections" in 60 assembly constituencies with the objective of deleting the names of eligible voters from the electoral rolls.

The Congress has been claiming "serious irregularities" in the draft electoral rolls, published after the SR of the voter lists.

Leader of the Opposition in Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar demanding halting of the finalisation of the electoral rolls until all "irregularities are thoroughly verified and resolved" to ensure removal of any "unauthorised or unknown" voter entries.

The draft rolls reflected a total of 2,52,01,624 electors, representing a 1.35 per cent increase from the previous final rolls published in January 2025.

A total of 7,86,841 additions and 4,47,196 deletions have taken place from January 6 to December 27 last year.

During the SR process, 4,78,992 deceased electors and 5,23,680 shifted electors were identified. Another 53,619 multiple entries were identified.

The Election Commission, however, said these names have not yet been deleted. These will only be processed for removal or shifting after formal applications are received during the current claims and objections period.

Claims and objections can be filed from December 27 to January 22 with special campaign dates fixed for January 3-4 and January 10-11.

The final electoral rolls will be published on February 10. PTI TR TR MNB