Silchar: Rajya Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev on Monday sat on a 10-hour hunger strike in Silchar opposing the ongoing delimitation exercise of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam.
The recent draft delimitation proposal by the Election Commission of India has proposed to chop off two assembly seats of Barak Valley, apart from converting the Silchar Lok Sabha seat into SC reserved. Presently, there are 15 assembly seats in Barak Valley and two parliamentary constituencies.
Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev on Monday said despite the increase in the population of the valley in the last two decades, the ECI’s motive behind decreasing two seats has not been acknowledged by people.
“They are working with the wrong formula. They have decreased seats in areas that have a higher population and added seats where the population is lower. The delimitation could have been done in 2026 together with the entire nation. Why so urgency now?” Dev asked.
She also raised questions regarding the accuracy of the methodology used to publish the draft, pointing out that the delimitation process is being done with old data of the 2001 census.
Dev’s party has also started a mass-signature campaign against the draft delimitation published by the EC. The response will be emailed to the Election Commission.
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Taking potshot at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Sushmita Dev said the chief minister has spread lies that the people of Barak Valley are happy with the proposal and have thanked him. “No one is happy. People and organisations are out in the streets opposing the draft. We have been interacting with the people and know the reality,” she said.
She also asked the chief minister to inform the EC in writing that the valley’s residents are strongly opposing the reduction in the number of seats.
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