GUWAHATI, Feb 29 - Prabrajan Virodhi Manch (PVM) convenor Upamanyu Hazarika has alleged that the February 28 notification for delimitation of constituencies in the north-eastern states including Assam by the Central government has created yet another fresh set of complications detrimental to the interests of the indigenous people.
He alleged that the entire exercise prior to 2021 elections shows that the BJP-AGP alliance is not confident of retaining the indigenous vote which it got in the earlier election.
�A delimitation exercise restores parity or equality between constituencies by either increasing the number of constituencies or re-drawing the boundaries of the existing constituencies by keeping the total number of constituencies intact. In either situation, particularly in Assam, the indigenous will stand to lose as the indigenous-dominated constituencies in middle and upper Assam have less than half the population/the number of voters than in the migrant-dominated constituencies,� Hazarika said here today.
The senior Supreme Court advocate further mentioned that this delimitation exercise is an attempt to reduce the number of seats where the indigenous are in a majority, which will correspondingly reduce the political clout of the indigenous people. Such delimitation was stalled in 2008 by the Central government itself on the ground that peace and public order was likely to be threatened and now because of an improvement in the security scenario, the government has found the situation conducive for this exercise.
�On the face of it, the basis for this entire exercise is deeply flawed as firstly, the law-and-order situation in Assam is very volatile with the anti-CAA movement going on in full swing coupled with the agitation by the non-Bodos in the BTAD areas. The security situation having declined is evident from the increase in security cover for the Chief Minister and other ministers who make only scripted public appearances and are not going to the general public,� Hazarika alleged.
The PVM convenor also alleged that on the one hand the BJP leaders, including influential minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma are admitting inclusion of names of lakhs of foreigners in the NRC and demanding its re-verification and on the other they are moving ahead with the delimitation exercise, which exhibits their duplicity.
