Several Opposition leaders in Assam on Friday sought the resignation of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of the Bharatiya Janata Party after reports emerged that a firm co-founded by his wife had acquired government land intended for use by landless persons and institutions.
This has come to light at a time when Sarma’s government has launched widespread, sometimes violent, eviction drives to clear government land of those whom it branded “illegal encroachers”. Many of those evicted were poor Muslim peasants who had earlier lost land in floods and erosion.
A report by The Wire in collaboration with Guwahati-based news portal The Crosscurrent said on Wednesday that the company, RBS Realtors Private Limited, was occupying 18 acres of government land. The report claimed that the land was acquired in contravention to rules pertaining to its possession, sale and use.
Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma is said be to the co-founder of the company. Their son, Nandil Biswa Sarma, owns 23.61% of the company’s Rs 100 face value shares as of FY’20, according to the investigation.
The other founder of the company is alleged to be Ranjit Bhattacharya, the vice-president of the BJP’s Assam Kisan Morcha.
The report said that the company’s occupation of ceiling surplus land violates rules prohibiting the sale of such land for ten years after they are allotted to beneficiaries.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhupen Kumar Borah told Scroll.in on Friday that he has challenged the chief minister to file a defamation case against The Wire “if his family members are not involved in encroachment of government land or to seek public apology if they are really involved in such encroachment”.
The allegations against Sarma pertain to the period between 2006 and 2009, when he was a Congress leader. Commenting on this, Borah said that even if a Congress leader was involved in illegality or corruption, the party would speak against the person. “Congress does not support any illegal things or corruption at any cost,” he added.
On Thursday, Borah had said that the alleged involvement of Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family members in encroachment of government land violates all rules, and has led to “an unprecedented incident in the political history of Assam”.
He added that the allegations have surfaced at a time when the chief minister “is trying to set an example before the people on the issue of making government land encroachment- free”.
Borah noted that ceiling surplus land is meant for landless individuals, and that if they decide to sell any land, they need to have been in possession of it for a minimum of ten years.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also sought a fair investigation into the allegations, even as it demanded Sarma’s resignation .
“There have been allegations that the family of the chief minister has been involved in a land scam,” CPI(M) leader Hemen Das said on Thursday. “If he thinks they are innocent, the chief minister should order a thorough inquiry on this and he should resign as the CM until the probe is completed.”
The Raijor Dal and the Assam Jatiya Parishad also sought Sarma’s resignation on moral grounds. They demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate against Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.
Assam Jatiya Parishad spokesperson Ziaur Rahman told Scroll.in that the party on December 8 had demanded a clarification from the chief minister and government officials within 24 hours.
“But neither the chief minister nor the government officials have responded,” he said. “We, therefore, believe that the allegation is true. We are now seeking the intervention of the Centre in this matter. The scandal and money laundering should be investigated by the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] and ED [Enforcement Directorate] under the supervision of a high court.”
On December 8, Guwahati-based journalist Atanu Bhuyan said that the company’s “new owner” Ranjit Bhattacharya told him that a defamation case will be filed against The Wire.
Bhuyan claimed that the Land Policy of 1989, the Assam Land Revenue Regulation, 1886, and Section 16 of the state’s land ceiling law do not restrict any sale before the completion of ten years.
He added that the BJP government introduced the restriction in 2019, while the property was bought in 2006.
On the other hand, state Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Debabrata Saikia said that the clause from the land ceiling law applies to private landowners and tenants, and not government land. He added that he had not quoted the new land policy adopted in 2019.
The chief minister’s office, the BJP nad government officials have not reacted to the allegations made against the family of Himanta Biswa Sarma.
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