Congress suspends Assam MLA arrested for 'provocative' remarks

Guwahati, Oct 4 The Congress on Monday suspended its Assam MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed, who was arrested on Saturday for his "communally provocative" comments on the September 23 violence during an eviction drive in the state's Darrang district, which left two dead and 20 others injured.

State Congress General Secretary Bobbeeta Sharma said that state party President Bhupen Kumar Borah has suspended Ahmed with immediate effect for violating party discipline.

Assam Police on Saturday first detained and then arrested the MLA from his official residence in Guwahati for his "communally provocative" controversial comments on martyrs of Assam agitation (1979-1985).

The 54-year-old three-time legislator justified the killing of eight people in Darrang in 1983 during the Assam agitation, triggering controversy across the state with various organisations lodging complaints at different police stations, leading to the police arresting him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Many parties and civil society organisations have been organising demonstrations during the past two weeks in many districts demanding action against him.

The Congress last week served Ahmed show-cause notice and asked him to reply within three days.

Sharma said that the MLA's "provocative comments and statements" have damaged the reputation and credibility of the AICC and the state Congress.

"You are acting as an 'agent of the BJP' due to your closeness to the Chief Minister (Himanta Biswa Sarma). You might have been sponsored to make such provocative and communal comments to cause harm to the Congress, especially ahead of the by-elections in the state," she had told Ahmed in the show-cause notice.

Sharma, who is also the chief spokesperson of the Congress in Assam, in her notice, said: "As an MLA, your provocative comments in the media, reviving old wounds of the past incidents of Assam agitation when people of various communities had suffered, are totally insensitive and unwarranted."

Ruling BJP's ally the Asom Gana Parishad, born out of the Assam agitation, held demonstrations in different districts and burnt effigies of Ahmed.

Ahmed, who represents western Assam's Baghbar assembly seat, apparently made the comments while reacting to media reports that the alleged encroachers at Gorukhuti (Sipajhar) in Darrang district disrespected the memory of those who died during the 1983 Assam agitation.

The eight people killed in Darrang district in 1983 during the Assam agitation were earlier declared "martyrs" but Ahmed, in his recent comments, termed them as "killers".