Guwahati: The Prabajan Virodhi Manch (Forum Against Infiltration) on Tuesday dismissed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s assertion that delimitation would protect the indigenous people of Assam, stating that his claim lacked foundation for several reasons.
On June 20, the Election Commission (EC) published a draft proposal for delimitation in Assam, proposing a change in the boundaries of several Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies of the state.
The proposal to redraw the boundaries of Assam’s electoral constituencies has been met with controversy. Although the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) welcomed it as a move to protect “indigenous interests”, opposition parties alleged that the draft divides voters on religious lines.
During a press conference at Guwahati Press Club in Guwahati on Tuesday, PVM convenor and Supreme Court lawyer Upamanyu Hazarika said, “Delimitation is always based on population, and three independent studies show that Bangladeshi migrants will become a majority in Assam between 2040 to 2051.”
Hazarika further addressed the chief minister’s assertion that delimitation was the sole measure to safeguard the identity of Assam’s indigenous population, claiming it was entirely false and lacked any foundation.
“To assert that the Assam Accord, NRC and Clause 6 safeguards have failed is not only false but also mischievous. NRC has not failed as yet, though a large number of foreigners have been included in the NRC, however, proper re-verification of NRC will ensure exclusion of such foreigners,” Hazarika said.
He further said, “The outgoing state NRC coordinator has in a detailed report set out how NRC was subverted and how re-verification has to be carried out. NRC records are completely digitised and the re-verification will therefore not require a fresh ground exercise.”
Hazarika emphasised that the re-verification of the NRC was well within the powers of the Central and state governments, without requiring the court’s consent as propagated by the government.
Regarding the High Power Committee for grant of safeguards to the local population under Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, Hazarika argued that its recommendations should include reservations for land, employment, trade licenses, and so on, exclusively for individuals whose ancestors’ names appeared in the 1951 NRC.
He criticised Assam CM’s change in stance, citing his past support for implementing the committee’s report without any alterations during his tenure as a minister in the previous government. “The change in the stance of Sarma since he has become Chief Minister is not surprising,” he said.
“Being a Congressman for 20 years after making the opportunistic switch to the BJP, Sarma has always nurtured the migrant Muslim vote bank,” Hazarika alleged.
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He also highlighted instances of Sarma opposing the NRC and offering compensation to Bangladeshi migrants during his previous roles.
The lawyer further noted that Sarma had made statements in favor of changing the cut-off date for foreigner identification to 1951 after joining the BJP, solely to appeal to the new indigenous constituency that supported the party.
“Under the Land Allotment Policy, Mission Basundhara 2.0 of November 2022, over 14 lakh bighas (5 lakh acres) of grazing land is set to be allocated to encroachers who only need to provide proof of encroachment before 2011, and the identity proof required is PAN, Aadhar or driving license which can be easy,” he added.
The controversy surrounding the delimitation proposal in Assam continues, as opposing voices raise concerns about its potential implications and protection of the indigenous population.
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