Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said he has instructed the police to register a case of treason against Congress leaders of Sribhumi district for singing the national anthem of Bangladesh at a party meeting.

Addressing a press conference here after a cabinet meeting, Sarma also alleged that singing the anthem is the Opposition party's endorsement of the claim by a section of leaders in Bangladesh that the entire Northeast region is part of the neighbouring nation.

The state Congress claimed that the BJP is creating an "unnecessary controversy" as it has no other issue to divert people's attention.

The CM said, "The Congress meeting started with the singing of Bangladesh's national anthem instead of the Indian national anthem. It is a blatant disrespect to the people of India and its national anthem." Sarma said he has already instructed the police to register a case of treason under various sections of the law against the Sribhumi District Congress Committee and its leaders.

In a Seva Dal meeting at the district Congress office in Sribhumi town on Tuesday, the leaders started the proceedings after singing two lines of the Bangladeshi National Anthem 'Amar Sonar Bangla', written by Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, who also penned the Indian National Anthem.

The video of the performance, which surfaced on social media, shows that only the singer was standing while reciting the two lines and all other attendees were sitting.

'Amar Sonar Bangla' was written by Tagore in 1905 when the first partition of Bengal took place during British rule.

Sarma said, "The Bangladesh national anthem was performed by showing the same respect we do for our national anthem. We cannot accept singing the Bangladesh national anthem in Assam." He said that the Congress leaders will be arrested by police, and legal steps will be initiated accordingly.

"It is in line with the new claim of various Bangladeshi leading citizens that eventually Northeast will be part of Bangladesh. We see that the recitation of the national anthem by the district Congress committee is somehow an endorsement of the claim of various Bangladeshi people and government that Northeast is their part and parcel," Sarma said.

After the video of the meeting surfaced on Tuesday, Fisheries Minister Krishnendu Paul claimed, "The Congress gave birth to Pakistan and Bangladesh was a part of Pakistan. So, to show their love for Bangladesh, the national anthem of Bangladesh was sung by the Congress (leaders)." He further said that instructions were issued to the district commissioner to take legal action after confirming the truth behind the incident.

Responding to the controversy, Sribhumi District Congress president Tapas Purkayastha said, "Don't play politics with Rabindranath Tagore. Our pride, 85-year-old poet Vidhu Bhushan Das, sang only two lines of the song. Criticising this song means insulting Rabindranath Tagore." State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi also criticised the BJP and said the ruling party is creating "unnecessary controversies" as it has no other issue to divert people's attention.

"The BJP is trying to politicise it, but they are deliberately ignoring the cultural and historical context behind it. The BJP has always claimed to have respected Bengali culture, but in reality, they have repeatedly insulted the Bengali language and its people," he told reporters here.

Gogoi also said that the saffron party's recent action once again exposed its ignorance of Bengal's rich heritage, legacy of Tagore and his philosophy.

"The truth is that the BJP only remembers the Bengali-speaking community during elections for their votes, but has never truly tried to understand their culture, language or depth of thought," he added.

Reacting to Gogoi's statement, Sarma in a press meet at night said that the state Congress chief should have expelled the party leaders immediately for singing the Bangladeshi national anthem.

"But Gaurav Gogoi probably liked it. Because this is a project of the Pakistan government. A few days ago Muhammad Yunus was given a gift by Pakistan where Tripura and Assam were shown as part of Bangladesh," he added.

The CM claimed that singing the Bangladesh national anthem, allegedly opposing Assam's industrialisation by Karnataka's IT Minister Priyank Kharge and supported by Gogoi, and the state Congress chief's "affection for Pakistan" should be looked at together.

"Congress has sent a message as if Assam is a part of Bangladesh. Therefore, this Congress party is Pakistan and Bangladesh's 'dot dot' party. I don't want to mention the bad words," he asserted.

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