AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma are at loggerheads again over Miya Muslims in the latter's state.
Owaisi lashed out at the BJP leader over his comments on Miya Muslims earlier blaming them for the price rise of vegetables in the state capital Guwahati.
Sarma had blamed the Miya Muslim community for the inflated price of vegetables in the state.
“The vegetable rates are lower in the rural areas; however, the prices are increased in Guwahati,” he said. The chief minister claimed that the sellers have been increasing the rates and most of them are Miya people.
"I urge the Assamese youths to come forward and I assure you that I would drive away all the Miya Muslim vegetable sellers from the city,” Sarma had further added.
Sarma, in turn was reacting to AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal who earlier said without Miya population Assam is incomplete.
“Miya Muslims and Assamese people are like brothers. The state can not exist without the Muslim community,” Ajmal had said.
Lashing out at Sarma, Owaisi said that there is a faction of people in the country who will blame Miya Muslims for everything that goes wrong. "If the buffalo doesn't give milk, or the hen does not lay eggs, it is the Miya Muslims' fault," Owaisi said.
He went on to add, "They will also blame the Miya Muslims for their personal failures too now. Modi ji has deep friendship with foreign Muslims now, maybe ask them for some tomatoes, spinach, potatoes," Owaisi lashed out at Sarma, tagging him in his reply.
Miya Muslims are descendants of migrant Bengali Muslims who lived in the Brahmaputra Valley during the British colonialism of Assam in the 20th century.
These migrants came from the divisions of Mymensingh, Rangpur, and Rajshahi in present-day Bangladesh.
(With inputs from PTI)