Assam Finance and Forest Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said on October 26 that eviction drives in the state were not aimed at any particular religion or community, asserting that the recent operation in Lutumari Reserve Forest was carried out in accordance with legal procedures and the directions of the Supreme Court. The minister was responding to a social media post by Bangladesh Parliament’s Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman, who had expressed concern over the eviction of Muslim families and the alleged demolition of mosques in Assam.
Baruah said the government understood the difficulties faced by families during eviction proceedings but maintained that forest protection and the rule of law should not be viewed through a religious lens. “We respect every community and understand the human difficulties involved in such proceedings. But forest protection and the rule of law cannot be selectively interpreted through a religious lens,” he said.
The minister asserted that the operation was neither arbitrary nor directed against any particular community. According to him, notices were served well in advance, and the government waited for the rainy and flood season to end before proceeding with the eviction. He also claimed the drive was conducted peacefully, without reported resistance or the use of force, and that affected families had been given time to vacate their homes and remove their belongings.
The eviction was carried out on October 17 and 18 across 314 hectares of notified forest land in Lutumari Reserve Forest in Nagaon district, affecting 563 families, Baruah said. “Protecting notified forest land is both a legal responsibility and an ecological necessity,” he added, stating that the reclaimed land would be restored with indigenous forest species to regenerate wildlife habitats, particularly those of elephants, and help reduce human-elephant conflict.
The latest operation followed an earlier eviction drive in November last year, when alleged encroachments were cleared from 5,962 bighas, or nearly 798 hectares, of land in Lutumari Reserve Forest, affecting around 1,700 families. Of these, 563 families approached the Supreme Court claiming legal rights over the land, and the minister said the second phase was undertaken after their petitions were disposed of on September 2. Anti-encroachment operations were also carried out in Borpani Reserve Forest in Nagaon district and in parts of Hojai and Golaghat districts, affecting more than 500 families, he said.
In his post, Rahman expressed “deep concern” over the eviction of Muslim families and the alleged demolition of mosques, claiming that more than 1,100 families were evicted within two days and that local residents had reported the demolition of 10 mosques, some more than 50 years old. He also criticised the Indian government over what he described as a failure to protect the rights of Muslim minorities, arguing that such actions ran counter to humanity and the rule of law. Rahman, however, appealed to people in Bangladesh not to allow the issue to trigger religious divisions or social unrest, urging them to preserve communal harmony.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/assam/story/assam-eviction-drives-not-targeting-any-community-says-minister-jayanta-malla-baruah-1467795-2026-10-26?utm_source=rssfeed
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Publish Date: 2026-10-26 22:13:00
