Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Wednesday said that the state government will file an FIR against University of Science and Technology Meghalaya Chancellor Mahbubul Hoque – who he has been on a warpath with for the past few weeks – for “wrongfully obtaining” an OBC certificate in 1992.
Hoque, a Bengali-Muslim from Assam, has found himself at the receiving end of attacks from Sarma, beginning with accusations that he was responsible for flash floods in Guwahati earlier this month. The floods, Sarma claims, were because of deforestation and hill cutting for construction work on the campus, which is located in the outskirts of Guwahati, in the descending hills of Meghalaya. Sarma had also said that Hoque was waging “flood jihad”.
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The CM then went on to attack the architecture of the university’s main gate, which has three domes atop it, and called it a sign of “jihad”. He also called on students and staff from Assam not to work and study there.
Last week, he said that his government is discussing the possibility of students who graduate from the university not being eligible to compete for posts advertised by the Assam government.
On Wednesday, while addressing a press conference, Sarma said, “A report has come from DC (district collector) Karimganj that he (Hoque) had obtained an OBC certificate falsely and his certificate was cancelled by DC Karimganj. Can a person with a false OBC certificate be an educationist?”
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The Chief Minister’s Office shared a communication by the DC Karimganj, sent on Tuesday, which claims that an OBC certificate had been issued to Hoque in 1992, which was cancelled in 1996. It claims that Hoque is neither Maimal nor from the Kiran OBC community, and that his OBC certificate had been withdrawn nearly three decades ago.
“The next line should have been a criminal case. The FIR was not lodged. Now we are going to file the FIR,” said Sarma.
At the same time, it must be ensured that the "decency and dignity of female candidates are upheld at all times", he said.(PTI) 
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