‘When SIR comes to Assam, 4–5 lakh voters will be deleted’: CM Sarma

Guwahati, Jan 27: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Tuesday, said the proposed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state could lead to the omission of around four to five lakh voters whom he described as “suspected individuals”.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of a seed-capital distribution ceremony under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyaan (MMUA) in Digboi, Sarma launched a sharp attack on suspected illegal immigrants from Bangladesh allegedly residing in Assam.

He said his government would continue efforts to prevent such individuals from participating in the electoral process.

“When the SIR comes to Assam, four to five lakh votes will be omitted,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the government was working to stop what he termed “miyas” from casting votes in the state.

Sarma said his government is determined to stop the illegal immigrants from voting in Assam.

“What ‘vote chori’ means to us? Yes, we are trying to stop some miya votes. Ideally, they should not be allowed to vote in Assam; they should be able to vote in Bangladesh. We are working to stop them from casting votes, but these are just some preliminary efforts by our government,” he said.

He maintained that the SIR exercise would not affect Assamese voters and urged people not to feel apprehensive about the revision of electoral rolls.

Referring to land transactions in Upper Assam, the Chief Minister claimed that recent data from Tinsukia district revealed a pattern in which members of the Hindu community were selling land, while alleged Bangladesh nationals were buying land in large numbers.

“A few days ago, I received a list of land sale and purchase transactions in Tinsukia. You would be surprised to know that land sales are higher among Hindus, while miyas are buying land in large numbers. That means they are present in Digboi, Duliajan and Tinsukia,” he said.

Cautioning residents to remain vigilant, Sarma said inaction at this stage could lead to larger problems in the future.

“If we are not cautious now, when will we be? No Assamese is troubled by the SIR. Let the miyas feel some heat from the exercise; why should we feel bad about it?” he said.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister also announced that the distribution of seed capital under the MMUA scheme had been completed in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.

In Digboi, on Tuesday, the Chief Minister ceremonially distributed Rs 10,000 under MMUA to 17,264 women beneficiaries.

He said the government plans to cover the remaining 26 constituencies across Assam by the end of February.