GUWAHATI, June 22 � Terming the Dispur incident as an act of �unprovoked violence� by the police on �peaceful agitators�, the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) has demanded a land policy that would ensure land rights for the indigenous populace of the State.
In a statement, the KMSS said that following a meeting with the agitators in the evening, Lower Assam Commissioner Hemanga Sarma gave a written assurance that the State Government would form a group of Ministers and discuss the issue of land settlement with KMSS representatives.
Meanwhile, the eviction drive in the city has been stopped till June 28, it added.
It also said that KMSS representatives would have a dialogue with the Principal Secretaries of the Departments of Forest, Welfare of Plain Tribes and Backward Classes, and Revenue on June 28.
The KMSS alleged that the ongoing eviction drive in the city was in violation of different land Acts and such �arbitrary� action by the Government must be stopped forthwith. �As per the land policy of 1989 of the Assam Government, an indigenous family has to be accorded settlement rights after it stays on a plot of land for 15 years. But the present eviction drive is a clear violation of this rule,� it said.
On today's protest, the KMSS said that none from the Ministers or bureaucrats came out to receive its memorandum following which the agitators started a march towards the GS Road. �At this moment, the police force jumped upon the people without any provocation, attacking them with lathis, tear gas shells and finally gunshots,� it said.
