NEW DELHI, Dec 14 - The BJP has lashed out at Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi for denying that land belonging to the Satras were encroached upon by illegal migrants, with the issue figuring in the Lok Sabha on Monday afternoon.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, BJP MP Bijoya Chakravarty said a huge chunk of land belonging to the Vaishnavite socio-cultural centres, which are called Satras, established by the 15th century saint reformer Srimanta Sankardeva, has been grabbed by these Bangladeshi nationals. Over 100 acres of land belonging to 26 such Vaishnavite centres have already been grabbed in a very planned manner by these foreign nationals.
The Gauhati High Court has given notice to the Assam Government to urgently vacate such land from the clutches of the Bangladeshis. Assam Revenue Minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman too agreed that a considerable amount of Satra land had been grabbed by the Bangladeshis.
Unfortunately, yesterday the Assam Chief Minister challenged the High Court that no land belonging to the Satras has been snatched by the Bangladeshis. �Assam Chief Minister has gone too far by saying that he would resign if there is a single Bangladeshi in the Satra land. I feel it is the failure of the constitutional machinery of the Government of Assam,� she alleged.
The Assam Government has failed to discharge its duties properly. When the Gauhati High Court has agreed on it and issued notices to the Government of Assam to clear the land, why does the Chief Minister of Assam say that there are no Bangladeshis in the Satra land�? she asked
�There is already a lot of disturbance in Assam regarding land encroached upon by Bangladeshis. Madam, through you, I appeal to the Central Government to step in and direct the Chief Minister to clear the Satra�s land from the clutches of the Bangladeshis.
Bhairon Prasad Mishra and Sunil Kumar Mondal also spoke on the topic.
Meanwhile, reacting to the Chief Minister�s statement on encroachment of land belonging to the Satras, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal said that he was shirking from his responsibility. �How can the Chief Minister claim so, when there is a judicial intervention,� Sonowal asked.
�Not only us, but the judiciary has also issued an order. How can the Chief Minister evade his responsibility now,� wondered Sonowal.
