Assam CM urges caution over non-Assamese land ownership ban demand in Upper Assam
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Guwahati, Aug 21: The demand for a law prohibiting non-Assamese people from purchasing indigenous land in five districts of Upper Assam, championed by 30 organisations in Sivasagar, is unlikely to see progress in the upcoming autumn session of the Assam Assembly, which begins tomorrow.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while acknowledging the demand, cautioned against the potential repercussions of such a law.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the BJP candidates' nomination filing on Wednesday, Sarma stated, “If we don't allow land for non-Assamese people, someone might argue that Assamese people shouldn't be able to move outside the state. We must acknowledge that we have more Assamese people outside than there are other communities in Assam.”
The Chief Minister also expressed concerns about the impact such a law could have on the state’s investment climate.
“If non-Assamese people don't bring industries to the state, who will? If investment stops coming to Assam, youth employment will suffer. We must act with conscience rather than emotion,” he stressed, urging against framing the recent assault on a national gold medal-winning athlete in Sivasagar as an Assamese versus non-Assamese issue.
Highlighting the contributions of the non-Assamese community to the state, Sarma said, “We must not forget the contributions of people like Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Chandra Kumar Agarwala, who brought pride to Assam. If there is any community that has given the maximum land for schools and colleges in Assam, it's the non-Assamese community.”
Previously, Sarma had announced plans to introduce a law during the autumn session of the Assembly that would prevent the purchase of indigenous land in three districts of Lower Assam, including Barpeta and Goalpara.
However, Sivasagar legislator Akhil Gogoi, on Tuesday, has indicated that the Raijor Dal will only support such a law if it also includes the five Upper Assam districts—Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, and Tinsukia.
"We will support this law only if these five districts are included," Gogoi stated.
