As tensions mount over large-scale eviction operations in western Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday strongly defended the state government’s actions, asserting that issuing eviction notices is “the most humane step” in reclaiming government land from alleged encroachers.
Speaking to the media after inaugurating the BJP’s newly built district office at Kajalgaon in Chirang, part of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), the Chief Minister said there is nothing more humane than serving eviction notices.
“But if someone refuses to vacate after receiving notice, we’ll be forced to use machines to clear the land,” Dr Sarma said.
He claimed that the eviction drive had broad public support, stating that “90 per cent of people are in favour of the move,” adding that the cleared land could open up avenues for industrial development.
“Only 10 per cent are opposing it, and the eviction drive has so far remained peaceful,” he noted.
However, tensions escalated after the All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) threatened to launch a “militant movement” in protest.
The Chief Minister, in a sharp rebuttal, warned, “If they resort to a militant movement, we will respond with a militant solution.”
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which held protests in Dhubri, alleged that Muslim citizens are being harassed and evicted under the guise of identifying illegal immigrants.
In a memorandum to the Assam Governor, the AIUDF expressed deep concern over what it termed a “rising pattern of targeting Indian Muslims,” alleging that people are being detained, interrogated, and even arrested without credible proof of foreign origin or adherence to due legal process.
Over the past few years, Assam has seen a string of eviction drives, often targeting forest, grazing, and government lands along the Brahmaputra and in border districts.