Shillong: A Meghalaya BJP MLA has asked a saffron party leader in Assam to withdraw the FIR lodged by him against Khasi Students Union (KSU) chief Lambokstar Marngar in the neighbouring state.
Assam BJYM president Amitesh Chakraborty had last week lodged an FIR against KSU president, Lambokstar Marngar, after his organisation put up banners at various places in the state labelling “all Bengalis in Meghalaya as Bangladeshis.”
The KSU banners also mourned the death of one of its members in clashes over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Bengali-dominated Ichamati village along the India-Bangladesh border in February.
The banners were put up after people recently staged a protest outside the Meghalaya House in Kolkata over the alleged harassment of Bengalis and a leader of a Bengali outfit intended to visit Ichamati last week but was denied permission by the state government.
The FIR was registered at Silchar police station against the KSU chief for putting up offensive banners and allegedly harassing Hindu Bengali population at Ichamati village and in other areas of Meghalaya.
“This is in connection with the incident at Ichamati after the murder of KSU member, Lurshai Hyniewta. An incident like this, should have been prevented and avoided at all costs. This has led to an uneasy calm in the city of Shillong. The matter is a state affair and involvement or influence of elements from outside the state is not required,” BJP South Shillong MLA Sanbor Shullai said on Sunday.
“The matter is a local concern and should be best resolved peacefully by involving all the stakeholders of the state. All genuine non-tribals of the state have always been supportive of all local issues and have been living at peace with the tribals for generations,” he said.
According to Shullai, “A misunderstanding can jeopardize the peace… The non-tribals of the state have been living in harmony with the Khasis, Jaintias and Garos tribes who themselves are highly peace loving by nature.”
Thus as a responsible MLA of the BJP, “I would request the president of BJYM Cachar District, Assam to kindly withdraw the FIR in the best interest of the people, state and party,” he said.
Shullai also requested senior Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to intervene and request the BJYM leader to withdraw the FIR against the KSU chief.
Shullai said: “… The matter is of serious concern and would require your kind intervention to ensure that peace and communal harmony prevails in the state (Meghalaya).” PTI
