Opposition calls for resignation of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma over land encroachment allegations

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Several opposition leaders in Assam on Friday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma from the Bharatiya Janata party after reports revealed that a company co-founded by his wife had acquired government land for use. by landless people and institutions.

This came to light at a time when Sarma’s government launched widespread, sometimes violent, eviction campaigns to rid government land of those it called “illegal invaders.” Many of those evicted were poor Muslim peasants who had previously lost land to flooding and erosion.

A report from The Wire in conjunction with Guwahati-based news portal The Crosscurrent said on Wednesday that the company, RBS Realtors Private Limited, occupied 18 acres of public land. The report claimed that the land had been acquired in violation of the rules relating to its possession, sale and use.

Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma is said to be the co-founder of the company. Their son, Nandil Biswa Sarma, owns 23.61% of the company’s 100 rupee shares as of fiscal year 20, according to the survey.

The other founder of the company is said to be Ranjit Bhattacharya, the vice chairman of Assam Kisan Morcha of BJP.

The report says the company’s occupation of excess land at the cap violates rules that prohibit the sale of such land for ten years after it is allocated to beneficiaries.

Assam Pradesh congressional committee chairman Bhupen Kumar Borah on Friday told Scroll.in he had challenged the chief minister to file a libel complaint against The Wire “if his family members are not involved in the encroachment on government land or seek a public apology if they are really involved in such an encroachment ”.

The allegations against Sarma relate to the period between 2006 and 2009, when he was head of Congress. Commenting on this, Borah said that even if a congressional leader was involved in the illegality or corruption, the party would speak out against the person. “Congress does not support any illegal thing or corruption at any cost,” he added.

On Thursday, Borah said that the alleged involvement of Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family members in the encroachment on government land violated all rules and led to “an incident unprecedented in the political history of Assam. “.

He added that the allegations surfaced at a time when the chief minister “is trying to set an example for the people on the issue of ensuring that the government does not encroach on land”.

Borah noted that the capped surplus land is for landless people and that if they decide to sell land, they must have owned it for at least ten years.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also called for a fair investigation into the allegations, even though it demanded Sarma’s resignation.

“There have been allegations that the chief minister’s family have been implicated in a land scam,” CPI (M) leader Hemen Das said on Thursday. “If he thinks they are innocent, the Chief Minister should order a full investigation into this matter and he should resign as CM until the investigation is completed.”

Raijor Dal and Assam Jatiya Parishad also called for Sarma’s resignation on moral grounds. They demanded an investigation from the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Execution Directorate against Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.

Assam Jatiya Parishad spokesman Ziaur Rahman told Scroll.in that the party sought clarification from the chief minister and government officials on December 8 within 24 hours.

“But neither the chief minister nor government officials responded,” he said. “We therefore believe that the allegation is true. We now request the intervention of the Center in this matter. Scandal and money laundering should be investigated by CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] and ED [Enforcement Directorate] under the control of a tribunal de grande instance.

On December 8, Guwahati reporter Atanu Bhuyan said that the company’s “new owner”, Ranjit Bhattacharya, told him that a defamation claim would be filed against The Wire.

Bhuyan asserted that the Land Policy of 1989, the Assam Land Revenue Regulation, 1886, and Article 16 of the State Land Cap Act do not restrict any sale before the completion of ten years. .

He added that the BJP government introduced the restriction in 2019, while the property was purchased in 2006.

But, CM’s wife @himantabiswa @rinikibsharma bought the entire property in 2006.

At that time, Revenue Commissioner CK Das issued a notice stating that no one could sell capped land for 10 years.

-atanu bhuyan (@atanubhuyan) December 8, 2021

On the other hand, state opposition leader and congressman Debabrata Saikia said the land cap clause in the law applies to private landowners and tenants, not to land. of the government. He added that he had not cited the new land policy adopted in 2019.

The chief minister’s office, BJP and government officials have failed to respond to allegations against Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family.

This does not apply to government land allocated to a landless person and in this case in question a piece of government land allocated to a landless person from Pvt was taken over by a company. (2/2) (ci -joint) ⤵️ pic.twitter.com / LTZuoluVtJ

– Debabrata Saikia (@DsaikiaOfficial) December 9, 2021

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