Guwahati, January 26 (NationPress) - In a pivotal turn of events, the Gauhati High Court has formally issued a notice to Assam's Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, regarding a series of petitions calling for action against him for allegedly making provocative speeches aimed at a specific community.

A Division Bench, led by Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, engaged in a thorough discussion on the case and requested responses from Sarma, along with the Central and Assam governments.

The court acknowledged the notice from both the Union and Assam governments, and a formal notice was also mandated to be sent to Chief Minister Sarma.

The next hearing is set for April.

During the proceedings, the Bench remarked that some remarks attributed to Sarma, as noted by the petitioners, seemed to indicate a "fissiparous tendency."

The Chief Justice stated that the court would investigate the explanations provided by the involved parties.

Senior Advocate C.U. Singh, representing some petitioners, contended that Chief Minister Sarma had engaged in "dog whistling" by suggesting that "Miya" Muslims should be disenfranchised in Assam and instead should vote in Bangladesh.

He further claimed that Sarma spoke about "stealing" Miya Muslim votes and removing significant numbers of Muslims from the electoral rolls.

The court emphasized that not every statement could be taken in isolation and indicated that it would consider the broader context of the comments presented.

“It appears there is a fissiparous tendency based on what you are presenting. Let’s see what they are saying,” the Chief Justice commented.

The petitions address multiple public declarations and actions associated with Chief Minister Sarma.

In a speech on January 27, Sarma reportedly claimed that four to five lakh "Miya" voters would be eliminated from the electoral rolls, asserting that both he and his party were "categorically against Miyas."

The term "Miya" is often viewed as derogatory when referring to Muslims in Assam.

The petitions also highlight a video shared by the BJP’s Assam unit on February 7, which allegedly shows Chief Minister Sarma shooting at animated representations of two Muslim men, accompanied by phrases like "Point blank shot" and "No Mercy."

The petitions were initiated by the Congress party, CPI(M), notable Assamese intellectual Hiren Gohain, among others.

Previously, the Supreme Court had opted not to take on the case, directing the petitioners to pursue the matter in the High Court.

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, C.U. Singh, and Meenakshi Arora represented the petitioners.