Several FIRs lodged against Shiladitya Dev for defamatory remarks against Syed Abdul Malik

Guwahati: Hojai's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Shiladitya Dev has once again landed in the proverbial soup for "derogatory remarks" against the Assamese litterateur and former Assam Sahitya Sabha President Syed Abdul Malik, who passed away in 2000.

Several FIRs have now been lodged against the controversial politician who, in a recent tirade, termed the noted literary figure as an "intellectual Jihadi."

Assam' Congress has been up-in-arms against the MLA and demanded his immediate arrest. The Congress' minority wing on Sunday lodged an FIR against Deb at the Hatigaon Police Station in Guwahati for 'inciting communal tensions.

Similarly, the Sadou Asom Goria-Moria-Deshi Jatiya Parishad has filed complaints at different police stations in Barpeta, Dhubri, and Morigaon districts, while the Sadou Asom Goria Yuva-Chatra Parishad filed a report at Jalukbari police station in Guwahati. The Asom Songrami Yuva Manch, too, filed a complaint at the Hatigaon police station and demanded legal against Deb for his comments.

Various sections of Assamese society are up in arms against Dev for his latest incendiary remark. Units of All Assam Students' Union (AASU), have burnt the effigies of the controversial figure over his shocking statement. The Assam Sahitya Sabha too has condemned the MLA's remark via a latest press statement.

Kuladhar Saikia, the current president of the apex literary body in the state, has also condemned Dev for his incendiary remark against the former president of the venerable Sabha.

It needs mention here that Shiladitya Dev had made the comments on Saturday after visiting the Haragouri Devalaya, a renowned Hindu temple in the state.

ShiladityaDev made his remark against the backdrop of simmering communal tensions in Assam in the wake of the 'bhoomi poojan' ceremony that was held to lay the foundation for the construction of the contested Ram Mandir UP's Ayodhya that is being built on contested land.

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