Following alleged racial attacks on people of Northeast in wake of COVID-19 scare in other parts of the country, Leader of Opposition in Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia on March 23 dashed off letters to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla for taking action against such instances.
The Congress leader cited a number of instances when people from the region have been targeted in other parts of the country during the last few days for their Mongoloid features, and hurled with derogatory words like ‘Chinki’ and ‘bat-eating tribes’.
He mentioned of a young girl being abused in a shopping mall in Pune and another girl being spat by a man on a scooter in New Delhi.
Saikia pointed that another woman was so badly trolled on social media that she had to file an FIR with Delhi Police against the incident.
He underlined that such attacks are not only racist, but also violates the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
“I would like to request you kindly to issue strict instructions to the administrations of all states and Union Territories, barring the Northeast, to take immediate and effective steps to protect domiciles from the Northeast from all kinds of physical and mental harassment on the pretext of the Coronavirus,” Saikia wrote in his letters.
