Sherman Ali Ahmed, an Assam Congress MLA, was suspended on Monday, just days after he was arrested for making offensive statements during a 40-year-old eviction drive. Congress said in a one-line statement that Mr. Ahmed had been suspended with immediate effect for continuously breaking party discipline.
Congress had already issued a show-cause notice to the MLA from Baghbar for justifying the killing of eight people in Darrang district during an agitation in 1983. He referred to the eight people as “murderers,” as they were seen as protest martyrs in Assamese society.
Mr. Ahmed reportedly made the remarks in response to the district’s eviction effort, which resulted in the deaths of two people last month. On September 20, over 800 households were evicted from 4,500 bighas of land claimed by the government in four locations in Dholpur, roughly 9 km from Sipajhar.
His remark sparked outrage across Assam, prompting the filing of many FIRs against him. On October 2, Mr. Ahmed was apprehended at his official residence in Guwahati.
The Assam Congress has issued a show-cause notice accusing MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed of making “politically charged” statements “with the goal of undermining the party’s image” ahead of the state bypolls.
