“Will the Assam Police act against Khumtai BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia for his provocative speech, in which he clearly supported an eye for an eye concept,” Bishal Protim Dasgupta- an IT professional told Northeast Now.
He was reacting to Saikia’s Thursday address to his supporters and followers in Chabua in Dibrugarh district of Assam.
Launching a scathing attack against anti-CAA protesters torching Chabua MLA Binod Hazarika’s residence, Saikia said, “If they come to burn your house down then chase them away and burn their house.”
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“If they attack and beat you then do the same with them and thrash them black and blue,” Saikia had further said.
“How can we even tolerate such a comment and that too from a respected politician who is representing the people in the Assembly,” Dasgupta questioned.
“The Assam Police and the state government recently passed a directive where they asked the people to not post hateful and provocative posts on their social media accounts,” he further said.
“But what about the MLAs and the ministers who themselves are making such violence inducing comments?” Dasgupta further questioned.
“If the government is monitoring social media accounts, they should also see what their MLAs are speaking in the public domain,” he further said.
“Videos of such hate speeches go viral in no time. So will the government now arrest us for sharing the video and questioning the MLA?” he asked.
“Is the government even aware of Saikia’s statement? Will Sarbananda Sonowal and Himanta Biswa Sarma take any action against Saikia?” he further questioned.
“I don’t support violence in the name of protest. What happened with Binod Hazarika is sad and this should have never happened. But to support an eye for an eye theory can neither be supported as well,” he reiterated.
“Saikia’s statement yesterday has the potential to incite violence in society. He can be booked under section 505 and 153A of the Indian Penal Code,” said a Gauhati High Court lawyer.
Sharing Saikia’s video from yesterday’s rally on Facebook, several users have reported it and they are contemplating legal action against him.