Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday rained down on advocate Kapil Sibal over his ‘Assam was a part of Myanmar’ remark during a hearing in the Supreme Court.
“Those who have no knowledge of Assam’s history should not speak. Assam was never a part of Myanmar. There were clashes for a brief period. That was the only relation. Otherwise, I have not seen any data which stated that Assam was a part of Myanmar,” Sarma said while speaking to reporters.
According to reports, Sibal made the comment on Wednesday during a hearing on petitions challenging the validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
“And if you look at the history of Assam, you will realise that it is impossible to figure out who came when. Assam originally was a part of Myanmar. And it was way back in 1824 after the British conquered a part of the territory that a treaty was entered into by which Assam was handed over to the British,” Sibal said.
The war of words between the Assam CM and advocate Sibal, a Rajya Sabha MP and former member of Congress, who left the party in May 2022, comes amidst crisis in Manipur where the issue of illegal immigrants from Myanmar is factored significantly in the violence earlier this year.
Many leaders including Union Home Minister and External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar have opined that illegal immigration is one of the main reasons behind the unrest in the Northeast.
Meanwhile, Mizoram’s new Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Wednesday said he will meet Home Minister Shah and EAM Jaishankar in Delhi soon to discuss the issues of refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, and displaced Kuki tribes from Manipur who have taken shelter in Mizoram.
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