Evictions Aren’t for Assam, They’re for Adani: AJP Blasts Govt

In a sharp rebuke of the Assam government, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has alleged that the ongoing eviction drives across the state are politically orchestrated and aimed not at removing illegal settlers, but at displacing indigenous communities to make way for corporate interests. 

Addressing a press conference, AJP general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan accused Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of deceiving the people of Assam by branding the evictions as an act of national duty and ethnic protection, while the real beneficiaries are industrial giants like Adani and Ambani.

Bhuyan pointed out that in recent weeks, the state government has come under public scrutiny over several controversial developments—including revelations that a minister’s wife received funds intended for cattle rearers, and allegations related to a Gir cow procurement scam. Amidst this political embarrassment, the Chief Minister hastily launched eviction drives in Dhubri and Goalpara, two Muslim-majority districts, in what Bhuyan described as a calculated move to divert public attention and create a polarising narrative around illegal immigration.

According to AJP, the government’s claim that these evictions are targeting illegal Bangladeshi settlers is deeply misleading. Bhuyan questioned why, if the evictees were indeed illegal foreigners, they were being compensated and rehabilitated by the state. He cited official data showing that in Kaziranga, 332 families received Rs 14.71 crore in compensation; in Gorukhuti, over 2,000 families were resettled across multiple phases; in Lumding and Nakhuti, nearly 700 families have been allotted land; and in Batadrava, at least seven families were paid Rs 32.5 lakh in total. Most recently, in Dhubri and Goalpara, evicted families were promised Rs 50,000 and land upon application. “If they are illegal Bangladeshis, why are they being given money and land?” Bhuyan asked. “And if they are Indian citizens, then the Chief Minister is lying to the people of Assam.”

The AJP alleges that the eviction narrative is being used as a smokescreen to facilitate massive land transfers to corporate houses. Bhuyan revealed that more than 55,000 bighas of land have been earmarked for such projects, including Adani’s 3,400 MW thermal power plant in Dhubri, a railway coach factory in Goalpara, another 3,200 MW power plant in Kokrajhar, a 9,000 bigha cement plant in Dima Hasao, and various solar and infrastructure ventures across Karbi Anglong, Kamrup, Golaghat, and other districts. “The real aim is not to drive out Bangladeshis,” Bhuyan said, “but to grab land from indigenous people and hand it over to industrialists.”

Further compounding the criticism, AJP questioned why indigenous communities in areas like Silsako, Amchang, and Mikir Bamuni were evicted without compensation or rehabilitation, even as so-called ‘illegal settlers’ received both. Bhuyan pointed to evictions in Kaziranga's Ingle Pathar to make way for a Hyatt hotel, in Hathikuli for a Taj resort, and in Mikir Bamuni where land was handed to Azure Power. “This is not ethnic protection—it is ethnic betrayal,” he declared.

AJP also raised serious concerns over the fate of the long-awaited recommendations of the Justice Biplab Kumar Sharma Committee, which was constituted to suggest safeguards for Assamese identity under Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. Bhuyan demanded clarity on why the Centre has yet to accept the report, and why its member secretary, Joint Secretary Satyendra Garg, did not sign the final document. “The Home Minister had promised that the report would be implemented without altering a comma. Why has that promise been broken?” he asked.

The party warned that the BJP government’s continued evictions in the name of nationalism are, in reality, calculated moves to displace indigenous populations and hand over Assam’s land to a few industrial houses.

"This is not just a betrayal of the Assamese people—it is a betrayal of the nation,” Bhuyan said. “And after doing all this, the BJP has the audacity to go from district to district, patting itself on the back. It is not just laughable—it is shameful.”

Calling for public accountability, the AJP demanded the government disclose complete details of where and why evictions are being carried out, who stands to benefit, and how many indigenous families have lost their land without compensation. The party also urged immediate implementation of the Biplab Sharma Committee’s recommendations and an end to the corporate land grab masquerading as law and order policy. Bhuyan concluded with a warning: “Today, they are displacing people in the name of nationalism. Tomorrow, there may be no Assamese land left to protect.”

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