Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that the state Cabinet has approved a special operating procedure to scrutinise the transfer of land between persons of different religions.

“In a sensitive state like Assam, the transfer of land between two religious groups needs to be handled very carefully,” Sarma told reporters. “All such land transfer proposals will now come to the government.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader added that the Assam Police’s Special Branch will scrutinise each proposal, looking at the source of the funds in such proposals and whether it has been reflected in tax returns.

The authorities will also look into whether such sales “will affect the social fabric of that particular locality, whether if any local people has objection, whether that has been addressed properly or not, and finally if there is any national security angle involved in certain cases”, said the Assam chief minister.

After the proposals are examined, the deputy commissioner will be informed about whether the transfer of land should be permitted, Sarma said, adding that the deputy commissioner will take the final decision.

The BJP leader also said that proposals submitted by non-governmental organisations from outside Assam seeking to procure land in the state to establish educational and health institutes, among other such reasons, will be examined from a “national security” angle.

“Only thereafter will permission for land sale be granted,” the chief minister said. “However, for local NGOs, which are known for their contribution, no such procedure needs to be followed.”

The announcement came days after Sarma alleged that “unknown” people had changed the demography of lower and central Assam and were now targeting upper and north Assam.

Sarma has repeatedly vowed to fight “land jihad”, which he alleges is threatening Assam’s demography. “Land jihad” is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslims plot to usurp public land by illegally building structures on it.

On Sunday, Sarma said that the names of persons evicted from allegedly encroached land will be deleted from the voter list of the place where they were living. The government’s strategy was to ensure that such “infiltrators”, including those already evicted, do not return to encroach upon land, he added.

Sarma said that the previous generation had failed to “save” lower and central Assam, but efforts must now be made to “save” the state’s upper and northern parts.

The comment was an apparent reference to the sizeable population of Bengali-speaking Muslims in lower and central Assam.

Between 2016, when the BJP government came to power, and August, 15,270 families – the majority of them Muslim – have been evicted from government land, according to data provided by the state revenue and disaster management department.

At least eight Muslims have been shot dead during evictions carried out since 2016.

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting