All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi hit back at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who stirred a controversy by saying the prices of vegetables in the state were jacked by traders of the Miya Muslim community. Sarma said if "Assamese people" sold vegetables, they would've never charged "their Assamese people" more. Miya is a community of Bengali-speaking Muslims who live in Assam but are originally believed to have migrated from Bangladesh.
"Who are the people who have increased the price of vegetables so much? They are Miya traders, who are selling vegetables at a higher price," Sarma reportedly said, as per a BBC report.
Responding to Sarma’s comments, Owaisi said there is a group of people in the country who would blame Miya Muslims if the buffalo at their home does not give milk or a hen does not give eggs.
"There is such a mandali (group) in the country who will blame Miya ji even when the buffalo does not give milk or the hen does not lay eggs in their house. Perhaps they blame their 'personal' failures on Miya bhai as well," he said.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Egypt, the AIMIM MP said, “Nowadays, Modi ji has a deep friendship with foreign Muslims, asking them for some tomatoes, spinach, potatoes etc.”
All India United Democratic Front head and Dhubri MP Badruddin Ajmal also berated Sarma for his comments saying he was creating a division between Muslims and the Assamese people.
"CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said that Miya Muslims will not be allowed to sell vegetables and 'masala' in Guwahati. The CM is the head of the state and such words coming from his mouth don't seem right. He should not have said this. I did not like this,” Ajmal said.
"By doing all this, he is creating a division between Muslims and the Assamese people. If after all this, some incident happens then the govt and CM Sarma will be responsible for it," he added.