An Assam Member of Parliament (MP) has written to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urging him to terminate the services of a member of a Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) after a communally charged letter by the FT member came to light.
Sabrang India had reported about a letter dated April 7, 2020 by Baksa Foreigners’ Tribunal member Kamlesh Kumar Gupta to Assam Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma offering donations collected from other FT members. This letter however stipulated that none of the funds be used for providing relief to people who contracted the virus at the Tablighi Jamaat event organized in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz in March. Gupta had used words like “jehadi” and “jahil” to describe such people in his letter.
The letter that gave details of donations made to the Assam Arogya Nidhi by various FT members from Baksa, Silchar, Morigaon, Kamrup, Barpeta and Karimganj, said, “Our only prayer is that the help may not be extended to the members of Violators Tablighi Jamaat, Jehadi and Jahil.”
This letter by Gupta had generated tremendous outrage as it showed how FT members harboured communal feelings and this was dangerous given how they had the power to declare people ‘foreigner’. It is also noteworthy that the letter was sent on an official letterhead to a senior state minister.
Now, Abdul Khaleque, an MP from Assam’s Barpeta Lok Sabha Constituency, has written to CM Sonowal sdemanding Gupta be fired from his post as an FT member. In his letter Khaleque says, “By referring to member of one religious community (Muslims) as ‘Jehadi’ and ‘Jahil’ in writing that was widely circulated on Whatsapp and other media, the officer concerned has clearly stoked disharmony, ill-will, feelings of enmity and hatred between different communities, in the region and in the whole nation.” Khaleque added, “His affirmative act in creating and signing this letter is deeply prejudicial to harmony between different communities. We humble submit that this particular officer’s act is even more harmful and consequential in the current national and regional atmosphere, which Covid-19 is deeply feared and anti-Muslim sentiments have spread all over the country through communal speech linking Muslims to Covid-19.”
Khaleque writes that Gupta’s statement in the letter is a violation of Section 153 (A) (1) (a) of the IPC that criminalises “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.” He also says Gupta’s actions also violate Section 153 (A) (1) (b) that criminalises anyone who “commits any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity.”
Abdul Khaleque’s complete letter to Sarbananda Sonowal may be read here:
Related:
Covid-19: Assam FT members donate to relief efforts, but stipulate funds not be used for ‘jehadis’