The people of Assam have not taken the delimitation draft well with state-wide protests ongoing. Earlier on Friday, protests also took place in Guwahati.
This comes after Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma rejected the notion that people have been protesting the delimitation draft.
According to reports, citizens have been left angered by the fact that the draft is discriminatory towards 10 lakh people of lower Assam.
Moreover, demands have been raised to ensure reservation for the people Scheduled Caste (SC) population of Abhayapuri South Assembly constituency.
Also, demands to ensure SC population of Nagaon Lok Sabha seat is given reservation were raised during the protests.
Meanwhile, the protestors also mentioned that there are discrepancies in the census of SC population in upper Assam. The protesting organizations demanded that a fresh census is done for the people. They said that that they have the power to decide who wins and who loses in the 126 assembly constituencies.
It may be noted that since the delimitation draft was released, there have been widespread protests across the state.
Even amidst that, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had outright ignored the ongoing protests against the delimitation process saying that he did not witness any protest.
Addressing reporters at the Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra in Guwahati, CM Sarma said, “No one is protesting against the delimitation of constituencies. I do not see anyone protesting.”
Without taking names, CM Sarma said that only one person is protesting against the delimitation process adding that the person will not be winning the upcoming elections.
He said, “Only one person is protesting, however, that person will not be victorious in the upcoming elections.”
The CM highlighted that he has travelled to different parts of Assam and did not witness any protests from any local tribes. He said that people in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, where he had visited, are rejoicing the decision, so as everyone across the state.
The decision on delimitation is not taken based on anyone’s ethnic identity and those who are making such statements do not have the slightest idea about our constitution and our legislative framework, said CM Sarma taking a swipe at the opposition.
