GUWAHATI: A total of 133 people from West Bengal, who feared they could be attacked after the declaration of results of the panchayat elections in the state, have fled to adjoining Assam so far.
Most of them are believed to be the supporters of opposition parties. They all hail from Cooch Behar and Alipurduar districts of north Bengal. The panchayat election votes are being counted on Tuesday.
Disclosing the influx of the people, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said they were lodged at a relief camp.
“Yesterday, 133 individuals who feared for their lives due to violence in the panchayat election in West Bengal, sought refuge in Dhubri district of Assam. We have provided them with shelter in a relief camp, as well as food and medical assistance,” Sarma tweeted.
Replying to a tweet from West Bengal BJP leader Suvendhu Adhikari who thanked Sarma for the assistance, the Assam CM wrote, “We consider the people of West Bengal as our valued and respected neighbours.”
He recalled that when hundreds of people from West Bengal had fled to Assam in the wake of the 2021 Assembly election-related violence, it had extended the same assistance.
“Please be assured that you can rely on us for any humanitarian aid during times of crisis,” the Assam CM said.
Adhikari had thanked Sarma for providing relief to the “tormented Opposition party karyakartas of West Bengal, especially those from BJP, who time and again are subjected to poll-related violence.”
He said they find it safe to cross over to Assam with their families for safety. Several lives have been lost in the recent panchayat poll-related violence in West Bengal.
In 2021, when the families fled to Assam, the state's BJP government sheltered them in relief camps in Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts. They returned to West Bengal when the violence subsided.