Political News: Assam BJP Alleges Third Force Behind Attempt to Incite Tension in Bengali-dominated Silchar

The ruling BJP on Tuesday alleged that a “third force” had incited organisations in the state to smear a government hoarding written in Assamese with black ink in Bengali-dominated Silchar. This “third force” had also incited organisations to demand replacing of the Assamese advertisement with a Bengali one, the saffron party said.

The force wants to disrupt the peace and harmony prevailing in the state, but their attempts have been thwarted by quick action by the administration and sensible reaction from the public, it said. The saffron party also claimed that Congress, Left parties and fundamentalist groups have been trying to divide the people of Assam along linguistic lines since decades. BJP spokesperson Ramakrishna Ghosh said Assamese and Bengalis have always lived in harmony in the state and there is no conflict – political, social or economic between them. Assam has been home to different languages like Karbi, Mising and Bodo, for ages and Assamese has been the unifying language for all the people. Likewise, Assamese and Bengali languages have complimented each other in their growth over the centuries, Ghosh and another BJP spokesperson Ranjib Kumar Sharma said in a joint statement here. However, using the divide and rule policy of the British, the Congress, Left parties and fundamentalist groups have been trying to create between Assamese and Bengali speakers for decades now, they said.