GUWAHATI, Dec 22 - The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today termed the eviction drive by the district administration of dwellers of the Sipajhar char (riverine/sand bar) areas as a discriminatory one and claimed that those evicted from that char area were legitimate dwellers. The Congress also demanded a clear-cut policy for evicting encroachers from government land, etc.
In a statement here, APCC spokesmen Rituparna Konwar and Imdad Hussain said that the eviction drive at the Dhanbari Char under Sipajhar Legislative Assembly Constituency to evict the people who were living there for quite a long time paying land revenue, was unfortunate and inhuman. They, however, maintained that the Congress has never supported the cause of the illegal migrants.
They said that those who were subjected to eviction are genuine Indian citizens who have been affected by flood and erosion. There is proof of their Indian citizenship and therefore, it is a bounden duty of the State government to resettle and rehabilitate them. But the State government did not show human compassion to these people.
The spokespersons also alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led State government has been targeting a group of people, who are followers of a particular religion. The State government is bereft of any clear-cut policy in matters related to eviction of the illegal settlers from the government land. This government is laying stress on creating emotion and sensation on this issue. This way, it has been sowing the seeds of communal passion.
�Significantly, the State government has not deported any of the �foreigners� it has evicted, even as it is boasting that it has evicted the illegal migrants from Sipajhar and Mayong,� said the APCC spokesmen.