Government Will Never Evict Indian, Assamese People: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said 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.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an election campaign meeting in Bodoland Territorial Region, Sarma tried to alleviate fears in the minds of non-tribal people living in the BTR.

"Don't take tension about eviction. It's a different department which will decide whom to evict. There will be no eviction against any Indian or Assamese people, just keep this in mind," he added.

On Saturday, the CM said the government does not consider unauthorised occupation of public land by indigenous people as encroachment, unlike the case with illegal foreigners or doubtful citizens.

He also said the government will continue its eviction drives against encroachments by suspected foreigners across the state.

Talking about non-tribals living in Bodoland, Sarma said, "Nobody can touch you people till Himanta Biswa Sarma is alive. Tell all that he is there, and he will come if anything happens.

"Remember that you are safe and have equal rights because THE BJP is here and there will be no second class citizens. All will live peacefully in BTR. Our Gorkha, Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, tribals and non-tribals -- no one should think about safety. We will have a peaceful BTR." The Assam government on Sunday carried out an eviction drive to clear alleged encroachment from nearly 1,000 bighas (over 133 hectares) of forest land, displacing more than 350 families, in Golaghat district.

A day after completing the five-day-long first phase of a massive eviction drive to clear almost 11,000 bighas (nearly 1,500 hectares) of forest land in Rengma Reserve Forest from encroachers, the administration began a similar drive inside Nambor South Reserve Forest.

At Rengma Reserve Forest in Uriamghat along the Assam-Nagaland border in Sarupathar sub-division, the eviction drive displaced around 1,500 families, mostly from the Muslim community.

Besides, 205 households in the Negheribil area under Merapani, located within the Doyang Reserve Forest, have also been served eviction notices. The drive there is scheduled to commence from August 8.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)