Assam Officials Threaten Muslim Villagers with Eviction if They Don’t Vote for BJP, Residents Claim

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Dispur, Residents of some Muslim-majority villages in Assam, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have alleged that state government officials threatened them to either vote for the BJP candidate or face eviction with the use of bulldozers. These threats have prompted villagers from Butukusi village, which falls under Assam’s Karimganj parliamentary constituency, to seek legal recourse.

According to Kashmir Media Service, nine Assam forest department officials are named in the complaint, including MK Yadava, the special chief secretary of forest. The residents have approached a local court, seeking an order for an impartial inquiry by an independent authority into the threats made by the forest officials.

The complainants stated in their appeal to the court that similar intimidation has occurred in neighboring Muslim-majority villages since April 21. They described how forest officials, along with Assam Police commando and armed forest guards, entered Butukusi and surrounding areas, going house to house, taking photographs, and issuing threats to villagers. The officials allegedly told the residents to vote for the BJP candidate, Kripanath Mallah, or face eviction by bulldozers after June 7, 2024, the date set for the general election vote count.

The residents claim that the officials used abusive language and derogatory terms, calling them “refugees” and “Bengalis from Bengal.” They were warned that to live peacefully in their homes, they had to vote for the BJP, or risk eviction.

The petition, filed in the court of the chief judicial magistrate of Karimganj, seeks a comprehensive investigation into the alleged threats and harassment. The villagers hope that an impartial inquiry will hold the officials accountable for their actions.

This development raises concerns about the use of intimidation tactics to influence voting behavior in Assam, and the residents’ complaint underscores the need for transparency and accountability in the electoral process.