Assam govt cracks down harder on land encroachers, intensifies eviction drive

Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 15 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday informed that a total of 1,19,548 bighas of land have been freed from encroachers in the ongoing eviction drive in the state.
Assam CM said, "After we formed the government, so far 84,743 bighas of land in forest and national park areas have been freed from encroachers. A total of 1,19,548 bighas of land have been freed from encroachers."
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday accused Trinamool Congress of portraying his government's firm stance against illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims as anti-Bengali.
He said the alleged attempt is nothing but a desperate ploy to shield Muslim infiltrators from the neighbouring country.
"Assam has been waging a relentless war against illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims for several decades," Sarma said in a post on X.
"The recent attempt by the @AITCofficial to distort my media remarks and portray our stand as anti-Bengali is nothing but a desperate ploy to shield Muslim infiltrators from Bangladesh--whose very presence threatens to alter the demographic fabric of our nation. Let it be made absolutely clear: in Assam, every Indian citizen--including Bengali-speaking people--fully understands our position and supports our uncompromising stand against illegal Muslim immigration from Bangladesh," he added.
On July 12, the Trinamool Congress slammed the remarks by Sarma that "writing Bengali as mother tongue in the census documents will quantify the number of foreigners in Assam."
"Bengali is the 7th most spoken language in the world. Yet, under @BJP4India's rule, Bengali-speaking Indians are subjected to racial profiling, targeted harassment, and systematic persecution," Trinamool Congress' X handle had posted on X.
"By branding Bengalis as "illegal Bangladeshis," @himantabiswa has disgraced the very office he holds. He must apologise immediately," the party added.
Meanwhile, Assam Legislative Assembly's Deputy Speaker Numal Momin has claimed that 15 districts of the state have become Muslim-majority. He alleged that the Congress's motto, motive and vision were to make Assam an Islamic state.
"As of now, 15 districts have become Muslim majority. At the time of Independence, there was not a single district with a Muslim majority. It is a very alarming situation in Assam," Momin told ANI in an interview.
"Very scientifically and tactically, infiltration is going on from Lower Assam to Middle Assam and Upper Assam. When I was a child, in that time, my neighbouring district, Golaghat, an area called Sarupathar, had only 60-70 Muslim houses. Now the figure has gone upto 6,000-7,000 households. This simple example is very much evidence that Muslims are migrating slowly from Lower Assam to Middle Assam and Upper Assam. It is not only demographic changes, but also a serious threat to the indigenous Assamese people," he added. (ANI)