On the second day of the budget session 2023, Baghbor MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed was suspended for a day by the Assam Assembly speaker Biswajit Daimary on grounds of ‘disrupting proceedings’.
The Baghbor legislator during the session accused the state revenue minister of providing false information regarding the eviction drive at Satra Kanara village in Assam’s Barpeta district on December last year.
He also wanted to raise supplementary questions related to the eviction drive; however, the speaker eventually interrupted and restrained the legislator from speaking.
Reacting to this, the MLA protested in front of the speaker’s podium.
Two marshals later took MLA Sherman Ali outside the Assembly.
It may be mentioned that the Barpeta district administration in Assam on December last year conducted an eviction drive at the Baghbor constituency to clear illegally occupied government lands.
According to reports, the eviction drive was carried out at Satra Kanara village in the Baghbor constituency of Assam’s Barpeta district.
Around 400 bighas of illegally occupied government lands at number 12 seat of Satra Kanara were freed during the drive.
It was also learnt that the district administration had issued circulars informing of the eviction drive to the occupants of the government lands a week ago.
Several occupants had reportedly heeded to the notification and left the in the given time, however, many still remained who were evicted thereafter.
Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had asserted that eviction drives to clear government and forest land in the state will continue.
Speaking in the assembly during a Zero Hour discussion initiated by Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha last year, Sarma said the BJP government will continue to carry out eviction exercises and “there is no point talking about it”.
“Eviction is a continuous process and it won’t stop. We will clear forest and government land (across the state) as well as in Batadrava,” he said.
Sarma said Satras (Vaishnavite monasteries), just like Batadrava, represent the identity and culture of the Assamese people.
“All people, whether Hindus or Muslims, will have to vacate Satra land. We request all to leave the encroached land or else we will do eviction there,” he added.
