Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday revealed that New laws including strict punishment for 'love jihad' andnew domicile policy will soon be introduced by his government.
Sarma was speaking at the state BJP executive meeting in Guwahati where he reportedly said, “We spoke about ‘love jihad’ during the elections. Soon, we will bring a law, which will award life imprisonment in such cases.”
The term 'love jihad' is used by right-wing groups to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
On New Domicile Policy
On the new domicile policy, Sarma elaborated that under this law, only those born in Assam will be eligible for state government jobs.
He maintained that indigenous people have received priority in the “one lakh government jobs” provided as per a pre-poll promise, which will be evident when the complete list is published.
In contrast, people of a “particular community” had got up to 30 per cent of constable jobs in the state police force under the Congress government, when the incumbent Dhubri MP was in charge of the Home Department, Sarma claimed, without elaborating further.
Laws On Land Ownership And Sale
The CM said the Assam government has also taken a decision regarding the sale of land between Hindus and Muslims.
Sarma said though the government cannot prevent such a transaction, it has made it mandatory to take consent of the chief minister before going ahead.
Among other initiatives to protect land rights are a resolution to bring in a law to forbid sale of land to people of a “particular community” in undivided Goalpara district.
“The undivided Goalpara holds much importance for our Koch-Rajbongshi community. But, people of a particular community took away our land and made us minority in our own place,” he alleged.
Under the proposed new law, land owned by tribals and people belonging to Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Castes will not be allowed to be transferred in undivided Goalpara, he said.
Similarly, a law will be enacted to allow transfer of land in Barpeta, Majuli and Batadrawa, important centres for followers of Vaishnavism, among residents of these areas only, Sarma said.
On CAA and NRC Implementation
Sarma said another legislation will be enacted for creation of “micro tribal belts and blocks” to protect villages or small, scattered settlements of tribals outside the notified belts and blocks.
Referring to the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the chief minister claimed that the agitation was one of “deceit as not more than eight people have applied under it” in the state thus far.
Sarma said his government will be taking a “bold step” to clear the biometrics of nine lakh people, collected and “frozen” during updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
(With PTI inputs)
