Marriages aimed at grabbing tribal land by illegal immigrants: Assam CM

Vijay M

Ranchi: Assam Chief Minister and Jharkhand BJP co-incharge Himanta Biswa Sarma Saturday once again raised the issue of alleged exploitation of state’s tribal girls by illegal immigrants from neighbouring country Bangladesh and asserted his party’s resolve to end the menace if his party comes to power in the forthcoming assembly elections.

“They ( illegal immigrants) have found a very easy way to grab land of gullible tribals by luring the innocent girls into marriage and subsequently become masters of their land, Sarma said on the sidelines of his visit to  the house of ex-IPS-turned-politician, Dr Arun Oraon.

Sarma, who has been entrusted with the task of strengthening the party organisation in Jharkhand and prepare it for a successful jump into the forthcoming assembly polls, is meeting all prominent tribal leaders who are either inclined or committed to BJP’s ideology and political agendas.

Dr Arun Oraon is not only a BJP stalwart but also an avid social worker championing the cause of fighting illiteracy and spreading knowledge through his innovative “Ratri Pathshalas” ( night schools) in the far flung areas of Jharkhand’s tribal hinterland.

Refraining from taking name of the illegal immigrants’ community, the Assam chief minister speaking to a select gathering of reporters at Dr Oraon’s house, said, “ The sole purpose of such marriages between the illegals immigrants and tribal women is to grab land and eliminate tribal identiy and culture. The tenancy acts are overlooked and overrode. The fundamental rights of tribal society are being snatched right under the nose of law enforcement agencies but nobody seems to care.”

He said, BJp’s election manifesto for Jharkhand polls will have special focus on this burning issue.

Earlier, upon his visit, Sarma paid his respect to Dr Arun’s father Late Bandi Oraon, who was also an IPS officer-turned- veteran politician, by garlanding his statue.

He has emphasized the significant role of the tribal society within Jharkhand’s social framework and stressed the need for awakening them to protect their culture, existence, political and social development.

“The tribal society has a very big role in the social fabric of Jharkhand. We have to address the basic problems of the tribal society and find out ways to help in their holistic growth.”

Countering opposition claim that BJP is weak in tribal dominated areas, Sarma said, “A wrong narrative has been set. Those who say this must look into the recently concluded parliamentary poll results wherein it has been found that BJP took a big lead in chief minister Champai Soren’s assembly constituency.