Evicted people should not be given shelter: Himanta Biswa Sarma

GUWAHATI — Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said people should not give shelter to evicted persons, else the "position of our people", which has improved through evictions and other measures, will become "bad again".

He asserted that the government will continue with its anti-encroachment drives to protect the ‘jati’ (community) if people continue to cooperate with it.

"Our people are conscious now. I don’t think they will cooperate a lot," Sarma told reporters on sidelines of progammes in Bodoland territorial Region (BTR) when asked if the evicted people will settle down in other parts of the state.

He said the encroachers should return from where they came from and the government has no objection to it.

Urging the public not to help the evicted people, he said, "Our people should not give them shelter. Otherwise, our position which has become little good through evictions and other steps, will become bad again."

The chief minister said about 29 lakh bighas (more than 9.5 lakh acres) of land is still under encroachment in the state.

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"A lot of work is to be done and if people cooperate with us, we will be able to do it and protect our ‘jati’ (community)," he added.

On last week’s eviction drive in Uriamghat area along inter-state border with Nagaland, he said, "There is no Naga aggression there. The Naga people and government have helped us in the eviction."

Without naming any community, he accused the alleged encroachers of being the root of several issues.

"By turning our forest into betelnut plantations, fishery, they are harassing us. Who is doing ‘love jihad’? It is happening on us. Who has done ‘land jihad’? It is happening on us. We are the ones who should cry but they are shedding tears," Sarma said.

The chief minister had earlier said 1.29 lakh bighas (over 42,500 acres) of land have been cleared of encroachment in the last four years, claiming that these huge tracts were under possession of "illegal Bangladeshis and doubtful citizens".

He had asserted that all unauthorised occupation of VGR (Village Grazing Reserve), PGR (Professional Grazing Reserve), Satras, Namghars, forest land and other public areas would be cleared in a phased manner.

On Sunday, he had said that the government will never evict "any Indian or Assamese people", a day after he stated that unauthorised occupation of public land by indigenous people is not considered as encroachment.