Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that people who are evicted will not find their names in the voter lists of the areas where they were living “illegally.”
Speaking to the media during a government event in Margherita, Sarma said, “First of all, those who are evicted, their names will not be included in the voter list from where they have been evicted.” He claimed that evictees often try to move to Upper and North Assam, and added, “We are trying to save Upper Assam and North Assam from infiltrators, unlike Lower and Middle Assam. Our generations before us failed to protect those regions, but now our effort is to at least save Upper and North Assam.”
The chief minister said that eviction drives will continue, including a planned operation in Margherita in Tinsukia district. Since June 16, at least 13 eviction drives have been carried out in several districts, affecting around 6,000 families. Many of those displaced say they are Indian citizens who have lived in those areas for decades, receiving government facilities, while Opposition parties have accused the government of using evictions to divert attention from its failures.
Sarma has defended the drive, saying the government is committed to freeing government land from encroachers. He wrote on X, “Our strategy now is to ensure that infiltrators, including those already evicted, do not return to encroach upon lands in Upper Assam, the way they did in Lower Assam over the past few decades.” He also warned of a “threat” to indigenous people, adding, “If we don’t act now, it will be too late.”
The chief minister also criticised a Delhi-based activist group visiting the state, saying, “Their sole aim is to paint the lawful evictions as a so-called humanitarian crisis. This is nothing but a planned attempt to weaken our fight against illegal encroachers. We are alert and firm — no propaganda or pressure will stop us from protecting our land and culture.”
