The Bhumi Adhikar Party (BAP) has condemned remarks made by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma regarding eviction drives in the hills of Guwahati. The Chief Minister’s statement asserted that eviction notices would be served exclusively to “Miyas” rather than indigenous Assamese hill residents. BAP leaders, including party president Prabin Jyoti Kalita, accused Sarma of engaging in “divisive politics” to polarize voters and curry favor with indigenous hill communities ahead of upcoming elections. During a press conference in Sorusajai, Kalita raised concerns over the denial of land patta applications under the Basundhara 2.0 and 3.0 schemes, questioning the government’s intentions if evictions were genuinely not planned. He highlighted that applications from families residing for decades in 366 notified hill areas of Guwahati were rejected on the basis of landslide-prone or non-convertible land classifications. Kalita urged the government to rescind the rejected applications and issue land pattas prior to the elections if it was sincere about not evicting hill residents. He criticized the Chief Minister for misleading the public by making assurances while denying legal land rights. In addition to demanding the revocation of a Cabinet decision that restricts land pattas in landslide-prone areas and the reconsideration of improperly marked regions, BAP maintains that the selective targeting of one community distracts from the ongoing uncertainty faced by indigenous residents. Party leaders, including vice-president Ramen Baruah and spokesperson Pradip Kalita, supported these statements at the press conference.
