Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday dismissed the Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind’s demand for his resignation and reiterated that eviction drives across the state will continue. “I am officially showing my thumb to them. I don’t care about what they demand,” Sarma told reporters in Morigaon, asserting that the decision rests with the people of Assam, not Jamiat President Mahmood Madani.

Founded in 1919, Jamiat is regarded as one of the most influential Muslim organisations in India. Earlier this week, its working committee passed a resolution condemning Assam’s eviction operations, which it said had left over 50,000 families homeless, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims. The body urged the President and Chief Justice of India to dismiss Sarma and initiate legal action against him.

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Sarma, however, remained defiant. “If I get Madani, I will send him to Bangladesh. I don’t care about Jamiat at all,” he said, also accusing the Congress of acting as Jamiat’s ‘B team’.

The CM justified the evictions as measures to safeguard indigenous rights, claiming his government has cleared 160 sq km of encroached land since 2021, including forests, grazing reserves, and Vaishnavite religious sites. He also defended his recent move to restrict first-time Aadhaar enrolment for those above 18, saying it would help curb illegal immigration.

Jamiat, in its resolution, countered that while it opposes illegal encroachments, the drives in Assam are being carried out in a “discriminatory and inhuman” manner.

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