Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that eviction drives in the state were only targeting Miya Muslims and not Assamese people, reported PTI.
No eviction would take place in the Guwahati hills until the Assembly polls, added Sarma, blaming the media for allegedly spreading rumours.
“Miya” is a derogatory term for Bengali-speaking Muslims. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Assam has often labelled the community as “infiltrators” who are allegedly taking over resources, jobs and land of the indigenous people.
Elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly are due in the first half of the year.
“The BJP has been in power in the state for 10 years now,” Sarma was quoted as saying. “Where has eviction been carried out in Guwahati hills.”
He added that eviction notices would be issued to Muslim migrants found to be residing in the hills.
Since the BJP came to power in Assam in 2016, multiple demolition drives have been conducted in the state, mostly targeting areas populated by Bengali-speaking Muslims.
On January 5, Sarma claimed that the government has reclaimed close to 1.5 lakh bighas of land in the course of the eviction drives, Northeast Now reported.
The chief minister’s remark on Sunday came a day after he said that only Miya Muslims were being served notices under the special revision of electoral rolls in the state.
Unlike in 12 states and Union Territories, the Election Commission is not conducting a special intensive revision exercise in Assam. Instead, on November 17, it had directed the state chief electoral officer to conduct a “special revision” of electoral rolls.
Several Opposition parties have accused the BJP of conspiring to delete the names of a large number of genuine voters from the state’s electoral rolls amid the exercise and filed police complaints.
On Saturday, Sarma said that there was “nothing to hide”.
“We are giving them trouble,” the chief minister had said, referring to his earlier statements that “Miyas” would face problems in his regime. He added that serving them notices as part of the special revision exercise was a way to “keep them under pressure”.
On Sunday, the chief minister also accused the Congress of pandering to the Muslim community.
“The Congress has said that it has received 750 applications from prospective candidates seeking party ticket,” PTI quoted Sarma as saying. “What they did not say is that 600 of these applicants are ‘Miyas’. Only about 120-130 applicants are Hindus.”
Sarma added that the Congress has “become a threat to our religion, culture, and the more convincingly we defeat them, the more we can save our state and [community].”
He also said that details regarding alleged links between Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and Pakistan would be made public soon.
“I want to reveal it by January 31. But since there is the Union Budget on February 1, there might be a delay by a day or two,” he was quoted as saying.
The BJP has repeatedly claimed Gogoi’s wife has connections with Pakistan and its intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence.
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!