‘Trouble them so that they leave Assam’: Himanta’s ‘Miya Muslims’ remark sparks political storm

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has stirred up a political storm with his ‘Miya Muslims’ remark, triggering intense outrage from the Opposition parties. Himanta said today that he encourages creating trouble for “Miya Muslims” so that they run away from the state.

In Assam, the BJP often uses the term ‘Miyas’ while referring to Bengali-speaking Muslims linked with illegal infiltration.

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Expressing his disapproval of the Miya Muslims, Himanta stressed that he is willing to do anything anytime to drive them out of the state. He said, “We are directly against the Miya Muslims. We are not hiding anything; we directly say that we are against Miyas.

#WATCH | Jorhat | Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma says, “…The entire Congress is ‘Badan Barphukan’ who have settled the ‘Miyan’ people here…We will continue to fight against them…” pic.twitter.com/ibJLdRcnPI

— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2026

The Assam CM went a step further by asking people to create problems for Miyas without the fear that notices would be served against them. He said, “Now, I encourage everyone to give trouble to Miya. Yesterday, I saw that they have reached Duliajan. A tsunami will happen here, but the result will be in Pakistan.

Himanta also claimed that Bangladeshi nationals were present in Assam and linked the issue to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The controversy comes ahead of state assembly elections later this year.

BJP vs Congress over ‘Miya Muslims’

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has come to defend the remark with a Bangladeshi angle, the Congress party has warned that such statements are attempts to divide society and could disrupt social harmony in the election-bound northeastern state.

Hinting at the possibility of a civil war, Senior Congress leader Udit Raj said, “The results of such remarks will not be good; they will be dangerous. However, these people don’t really care for the country. If this continues, the country might face turbulence, it might be divided, or even see a civil war. And the BJP and RSS will be responsible for this.”

However, the BJP asserted that the CM’s ‘Miya’ remarks were meant for illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. BJP spokesperson Pratul Sahdeo said, “Himanta Biswa Sarma’s stand has always been that the SIR should be implemented strictly against the ‘Miyas,’ and by ‘Miyas’ he means illegal Muslim immigrants coming from Bangladesh.”