NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday criticised the Congress party, saying it had no right to lecture on freedom of expression. His remarks in the assembly came after an alleged attack on deputy speaker Numal Momin by Congress MLAs.
Sarma took to X, saying, “Congress has no right to lecture anyone on Freedom of Expression. Yesterday in the Assam Assembly, their MLAs assaulted the Deputy Speaker, a veteran tribal leader, simply because they don’t agree with his FOE.”
This comes after row over Kunal Kamra’s recent stand-up performance in Mumbai, where Congress cornered the BJP and its allies including Shiv Sena on ‘freedom of expression’.
Momin claimed he was attacked in a “Maoist style” by Congress MLAs on Monday while entering the House. He alleged that Congress MLA Nurul Huda and others blocked the entry door and pushed him. Later, Momin appeared in the assembly with a bandaged left hand, saying that he sustained injuries during the altercation.
“They tried to stop our entry through the door designated for the speaker and deputy speaker. It felt like a terrorist act — an attempt to hijack the assembly. I was attacked in Maoist-style. Whether this was orchestrated by the Congress party, Maoists, or the Left, it must be thoroughly probed,” he said. Calling it a “black day in the history of Assam assembly,” Momin blamed Nurul Huda for the incident.
In the evening, Momin filed an FIR at Dispur police station. The confrontation took place while Congress MLAs, dressed in black, were protesting BJP MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi’s conduct in the House last week.
Kurmi had reportedly chased opposition MLAs during a cut motion discussion on the demand for a grant to the PWD department, triggering chaos in the assembly.
