Assam BJP leader refuses to withdraw case against Khasi Students Union chief

An Assam BJP youth wing leader has refused to withdraw the FIR lodged by him against the Khasi Students Union (KSU) chief for putting up posters against Bengalis residing in Meghalaya.

“We will not withdraw the FIR until the KSU president publicly apologizes for putting up such banners and posters,” he told reporters on Monday.

A BJP MLA in Meghalaya had asked Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s (BJYM) Cachar chief Amitesh Chakraborty to withdraw the FIR lodged by him against the KSU chief.

BJYM Cachar chief Amitesh Chakraborty last week lodged an FIR against KSU president, Lambokstar Marngar, after his organization put up banners and posters at different places of Meghalaya on October 22 terming Bengalis in the state “Bangladeshis”.

South Shillong MLA Sanbor Shullai said on Monday that ethnic misunderstanding can hamper the peace and communal harmony.

“The non-tribals of Meghalaya have been living in harmony with the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos tribes who are traditionally peace-loving tribal communities,” Shullai told reporters in Shillong.

While urging the BJYM leader to withdraw the case, he said that the issue is a state affair and “involvement or interference of elements from outside the state would further complicate the situation”.

The state police had removed the posters and warned action against those trying to “incite communal disharmony”.

Reacting to the issue, BJP leader and former Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy, in a tweet, said: “I say this taking full responsibility as ex-Governor of Meghalaya: KSU needs to be banned just like HNLC. It is an anti-national terrorist organization, threatening Indian citizens, some of whom are residents of Meghalaya since British times. Like my family on both sides.”

The KSU, in its banners and posters, also mourned the death of one of its activists in clashes during the agitations against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Ichamati village, a Bengali-dominated area along the India-Bangladesh border, in February.

The prime accused in the Ichamati incident is absconding but around 40 people had been detained for questioning.