Adilabad (Telangana) [India], February 5 (ANI): AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has criticised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over 'Miya' remarks, accusing him of disrespecting the muslim community in the state.

'The Chief Minister of Assam is of the BJP. Can any Chief Minister say something like this: 'If there's a 'Miya' driver in the auto-rickshaw, and the bill is five rupees, then you give him four rupees'? In Assam, 'Miya' refers to Muslims who were brought there by the British 150-200 years ago to cultivate the land and work. They are citizens of India. They speak Bengali. How small are you, the Chief Minister of Assam?,' Owaisi said.

Targeting the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Owaisi further said that while the government talks about building a developed India, becoming the world's third-largest economy, and emerging as a global superpower, it hesitates to pay 'one rupee' to an autorickshaw driver.

'I want to ask the BJP and the Prime Minister of India: You talk about a developed India. You say that we will become the third-largest economy. You say that we will become a superpower. You have to build a house on the moon but you don't want to pay one rupee for an auto,' he said.

Owaisi's comments came in response to Sarma's statement made on January 29, where the Assam Chief Minister said that people who have come from Bangladesh should be referred to as 'Miya,' claiming that the term was self-used by them.

'Those who have come from Bangladesh call themselves 'Miya'. I did not give them that name; it is they who call themselves that,' Sarma said.

During his speech, Owaisi also recalled a recent incident in Uttarakhand involving a man named Deepak Kumar. He alleged that Deepak was targeted after supporting a 70-year-old lawyer whose shop displayed the word 'Baba.'

According to Owaisi, members of the Bajrang Dal demanded the removal of the word, and when Deepak objected, the police later filed a case against him.

Kotdwar Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Chandra Mohan Singh said that the situation in the city is normal and police are conducting foot patrols after a dispute between two groups over a shop's name in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand.

The incident occurred on January 26, when a group of people demanded that a shopkeeper change the name of his shop.

A dispute arose when he refused to comply with their demand. A gym trainer, Deepak Kumar, reportedly confronted the mob, after which protests broke out on January 31.

Police have registered FIRs based on video footage and urged people not to sensationalise the incident on social media, ASP Singh said. (ANI)