Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the names of the evictees will not be included in the voter list of the places where they were living “illegally”.
Interacting with the media on the sidelines of a government event in Margherita, Sarma said: “First of all, those who are evicted, their names will not be included in the voter list from where they have been evicted.”
“Their modus operandi is to enter Upper Assam and North Assam. We are trying to save Upper Assam and North Assam (from infiltrators) unlike Lower and Middle Assam. Our generations and the generations before failed to protect Lower and Middle Assam. But it is now our effort to at least save Upper Assam and North Assam,” the chief minister claimed.
“After eviction, names of the evictees will be struck off the voter list,” Sarma reiterated, while announcing the administration’s plan to carry out eviction at Margherita in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district.
Since June 16, at least 13 eviction drives “to free government land” have been carried out in several districts, affecting 6,000 families. The affected have moved courts while Opposition parties have claimed the sustained drive to divert attention from the government’s “failures”.
The BJP-led state government, however, remains firm on freeing government land from encroachers. Most of the evictees claim that they are Indian citizens settled in those areas for decades and also enjoy all government facilities.
Sources said if the names of the evictees are struck off from the electoral rolls, they will have to race against time to get themselves included before the Assembly polls in April-May.
Sarma, in an X post, reiterated his intent: “Our strategy now is to ensure that infiltrators, including those already evicted, do not return to encroach upon lands in Upper Assam, the way they did in Lower Assam over the past few decades.”
“The time has come for the people of Assam to realise the imminent threat facing us — in every aspect, in every field, the indigenous people are losing their power and if we don’t ACT NOW, it will be too late.” he added.
The chief minister also hit out at a Delhi-based team of activists on a visit to Assam.
“Their sole aim is to paint the lawful evictions as so-called ‘humanitarian crisis’. This is nothing but a planned attempt to weaken our fight against illegal encroachers. We are alert and firm — no propaganda or pressure will stop us from protecting our land and culture,” he posted.