FIR Against Himanta Sarma For "Sonia Gandhi's Home Should Be Burnt" Speech

Senior Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia has filed a police complaint against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for his alleged "hateful statement" about Sonia Gandhi. Mr Sarma, during a rally in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha district on September 18, had allegedly said that Mrs Gandhi's residence should be burnt.

"Taunting Kamal Nath, a prominent member of the Indian National Congress, about his Hindu identity, Himanta Sarma directly suggested that  10, Janpath should be burnt," Mr Saikia, the Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, said in his complaint.

10, Janpath is Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi.

"In a country governed by the rule of law, Himanta Sarma has taken electoral rhetoric to its ugliest form" and gave a "clear instigation towards violence and arson", Mr Saikia said.

Though the statement was made in Madhya Pradesh, it has been widely circulated over print, electronic, and social media and it is accessible in Assam, he added.

Sonia Gandhi is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and by "suggesting that the residence of a 77-year-old lady be burnt down, Himanta Sarma is not just attacking a prominent face of the Opposition but is also giving a clarion call for arson," he stated.

"Such wanton statements from a person with constitutional authority have the potential to cause misguided persons to resort to violence and potentially harm the residents of 10 Janpath," Mr Saikia said.

The BJP leader is liable to be charged with provocation causing rioting and abetment to violence under the Indian Penal Code, he said.

In the complaint filed on September 20, Debabrata Saikia shared a link to a newspaper report on the speech of the Chief Minister.

"We have appealed to the police to register an FIR in this regard," he said.

A senior police official said that they are examining the complaint and are yet to decide on it.

The Chief Minister is currently campaigning for the BJP in Rajasthan which will go to polls later this year and has not commented on the complaint.