GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said Congress, Jamat-e-Islami-Hind, intellectuals like Prashant Bhushan, Harsh Mander and some elements from Pakistan and Bangladesh were actively working to weaken Assam.
“Some people are visiting Assam to create an unrest. Harsh Mander and Prashant Bhushan have been visiting different parts of the state since yesterday. Another group, comprising Jawhar Sircar, Wajahat Habibullah and Fayaz Shaheen, is visiting different districts of lower Assam. They met only minority community and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders,” Sarma told the media.
Stating that the government is tracking their movement, he said the way these individuals had come to Assam during the updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and failed it, a similar attempt had been now started.
“They succeeded during the NRC but to ensure that they do not succeed this time around, the government has kept a watchful eye,” Sarma stated.
“Congress, Jamat-e-Islam Hind, intellectuals like Prashant Bhushan, Harsh Mander and some elements from Pakistan and Bangladesh are very active to weaken Assam. We all Assamese and Indians have to stay united to foil this conspiracy,” he said.
In the recent weeks, the Assam government cleared encroachment on vast swathes of land in forests, village grazing reserves, and professional grazing reserves. A large majority of the evictees were “Miya Muslims” (Bengali Muslims).
“After Jamaat-e-Hind’s outburst demanding my dismissal yesterday, a Delhi-based team — Harsh Mander, Wajahat Habibullah, Fayaz Shaheen, Prashant Bhushan, and Jawhar Sircar — is now camping in Assam. Their sole aim is to paint the lawful evictions as so-called ‘humanitarian crisis.’ This is nothing but a planned attempt to weaken our fight against illegal encroachers,” Sarma posted on X later.
“We are alert and firm—no propaganda or pressure will stop us from protecting our land and culture,” he further wrote.