Guwahati (Assam) [India], August 11 : Amid the ongoing large-scale eviction drive in various parts of Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma alleged that Congress was mourning for the infiltrators evicted during the encroachment drive.
In a post on X, CM Sarma shared, "Congress is mourning for the infiltrators evicted during the encroachment drive. These people, who had occupied 30 acres of land, were attempting to change our culture. How did these people become poor?"
Earlier, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) had alleged that the law and order situation in Assam had "deteriorated" and Muslims were being "targeted."
The party has demanded that the President's Rule be imposed in the state.
Speaking to ANI, AIUDF MLA and party General Secretary Rafiqul Islam said that in Assam, Muslims are being "targeted and harassed" and accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of "fueling" it.
He further said that not a single Bangladeshi Muslim entered Assam after 1971.
"The law and order situation in Assam is not good, and the Chief Minister has himself been fuelling this. The bonafide Indian citizens are being harassed in Assam, and thousands of people have now become homeless after the state government bulldozed their houses. Especially the Muslims are being targeted. The landless people will go where, the government's responsibility is to rehabilitate the landless people. Non-Muslim people are also in the government lands. If Muslims occupied 30 per cent of the government lands, then Non-Muslims occupied 70 per cent of those lands. But only Muslims are being targeted. We are against this eviction drive carried out by the state government," Rafiqul Islam said.
A large-scale eviction operation was successfully carried out on August 8 in Negheribil, Merapani, located along the Assam-Nagaland border, as part of the ongoing efforts to reclaim encroached land under the Doyang Reserve Forest in Golaghat district.
The operation led to the clearance of 146 households comprising numerous illegal structures, spread across more than 50 hectares of protected forest land. The eviction was executed in accordance with due legal process, following prior notices issued to the encroachers.
Addressing the media, Special Chief Secretary of Assam, M K Yadav, announced that the remaining encroachments in Uriamghat and Negheribil will be removed starting from August 16. He confirmed that Friday's drive resulted in the successful reclamation of over 50 hectares (approximately 400 bighas) of forest land. Furthermore, he revealed that a plantation drive will be launched in Uriamghat, with similar initiatives to follow in other recently cleared areas within the reserve forest.
Yadav also acknowledged the active support and cooperation provided by the Government and Police of Nagaland throughout the eviction process, which contributed significantly to the smooth execution of the operation.
The first phase of the large-scale eviction drive in the Rengma Reserve Forest of Assam's Golaghat concluded successfully on August 2, with final operations carried out seamlessly in Bidyapur and 2 No. Madhupur, a release said.
Earlier, Assam State BJP said that the ongoing eviction drives will continue till every inch of illegally encroached land in Assam is freed.
This is not merely an administrative step; it is the final battle to safeguard the very existence of Assam, stated the BJP, Assam Pradesh.
"If anyone believes that a few eviction operations will make us retreat, or that we will bow before intimidating eyes or political pressure, let them be clear--our struggle will not stop until we have accounted for the sacrifices of the martyrs of the Assam movement," BJP Spokesperson Kalyan Gogoi said, echoing the words of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.