Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma accused the Congress on October 3 of failing to protect people living in the state’s riverine communities by not granting them formal landholding rights, or “land pattas.” Speaking during the ongoing political campaign, Sarma said eviction would not have affected many residents of the chars-riverine islands and sandbar settlements-if the previous Congress government had provided them with pattas.
“If Congress had given land pattas to the people living in the chars, no one would have evicted them,” Sarma said.
The chief minister also referred to Mumtaz Begum, known as Mamataz, claiming that she might have avoided her present troubles had the then Congress government provided her with social security. He targeted Congress leader Rakibul Hussain, alleging that the former three-time forest minister failed to arrange a lawyer for Begum. “Rakibul, who ate biryani three times, could not arrange a lawyer for Mamataz,” Sarma said.
Sarma’s remarks came weeks after the Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government to pay interim compensation of ₹2 lakh to Begum’s husband, Mujammel Hoque. Court records said the Foreigners Tribunal in Nagaon had declared Begum a foreign national.
The comments form part of continuing exchanges between the BJP and Congress over land settlement, evictions, citizenship and the treatment of vulnerable communities. Sarma has repeatedly blamed previous Congress administrations for what he described as failures to provide land rights and government benefits to eligible residents.
The BJP’s 2026 Assam election manifesto also contains a promise to grant land rights to “genuine citizens,” reflecting the party’s emphasis on land ownership and settlement rights in the state.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/assam/story/if-congress-had-given-land-pattas-no-one-would-have-evicted-char-residents-himanta-1458373-2026-10-03?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-10-03 15:27:00
