Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared on Wednesday that the state’s eviction campaigns to clear government and forest land would continue.
Speaking in the legislature during a Zero Hour discussion started by Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Sarma asserted that the BJP government will continue to conduct eviction operations and that “talking about it is pointless.”
“Eviction is a continuous process and it won’t stop. We will clear forest and government land (across the state) as well as in Batadrava,” he said.
Sarma said Sattras (Vaishnavite monasteries), just like Batadrava, represent the identity and culture of the Assamese people.
“All people, whether Hindus or Muslims, will have to vacate Sattra land. We request all to leave the encroached land or else we will do eviction there,” he added.
When Congress MLA Rakibul Hussain appealed to the government to look after the basic needs such as drinking water and food of the evicted people in Batadrava, the chief minister said, “There’s no policy to give water to evicted people. They broke the law by occupying land, so we can’t hold camps for them. It’s the job of the NGOs.”