Delimitation can safeguard the state's future, to deliver where NRC, Assam Accord failed: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday stated that the delimitation exercise to be carried out by the Election Commission would safeguard the state's future and is expected to deliver what National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Assam Accord of 1985 could not.

"The delimitation exercise is a breakthrough for Assam. The NRC was not successful, we did not get the desired results from the Assam Accord, but delimitation can be one exercise through which we can safeguard Assam's future for the next two decades at least. Whether BJP or Congress will win is not important. But at least we can use it for the interest of the people of Assam given the change of demography in the society as well as its reflection in the state Assembly," Sarma told reporters in Guwahati, while addressing a press conference on the occasion of New Year.

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The ECI on December 27 announced that a delimitation exercise would be carried out for all 126 Assembly constituencies as well as 14 Lok Sabha seats. The exercise would be carried out based on the Census data of 2001.

Although Sarma did not elaborate how the delimitation will safeguard Assam's future, he was hinting at addressing the "demographic threats" posed to indigenous communities from the Bengali speaking Muslims, whom BJP often refers to as "illegal Bangladeshis." This is one of the major poll-plank of BJP in Assam.

"But the delimitation process is a non-political exercise, it is based on data, it will be challenged in the court...it will be an exercise which will be done on the basis of data. People will have no role, whatever computers will show, will be done. Some work can not be done based on emotion only. After the emotions of NRC and Assam Accord, there will be something based on logic. We have seen emotions have lost but logic has won. A logic is more than emotions," he said.

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The NRC exercise was carried out only in Assam between 2013 and 2019 in order to detect post-1971 migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, solve Assam's long foreigner problem and counter the demographic threat posed to the indigenous communities. But the BJP-led government in the state refused to accept the Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise alleging anomalies in the process. The Assam Accord, which was signed following the anti-foreigners movement (1979-1985) has also not been fully implemented yet.

Population can't be the basis of delimitation

Sarma said although the present law says the delimitation exercise would be conducted base on Census, population should not be the only basis.

"The Centre asked us to control population, some people has controlled population, some has not. Since population is the basis of delimitation, you are actually giving premium to those who are violating the policy, and you are punishing those who are going by the policy. So I believe, when the next delimitation exercise is done, the Parliament will definitely debate whether the areas abiding by the population control policy should be punished or rewarded. Suppose, in Assam's context, people in Dibrugarh and Sivasagar districts controlled population for development of the nation and gave birth to just two children but some people in other areas did not abide and gave birth to 12 children.

So when you go for delimitation, we should reward those who are abiding by the law. Today's law for delimitation is giving premium to those not abiding by the law. So I think that this is a matter of national debate. In my view, population should not be a criteria in delimiting the constituencies, there should be other criteria also. However, in this delimitation exercise, we have to go by the law of the Parliament, which says population is the basis. In the future we can raise this issue."

Replying to a question about population explosion in Assam, Sarma said only Census 2021 data will reveal the same. "But according to 2011 Census, population growth of particular community has come down to 15 per cent whereas population of some others have remained static at 29 per cent. So decrease has become a worry in percentile form."

Highest arms recovery

Listing the achievement of his government in 2022, Sarma said end of tribal insurgency, insurgency of Adivasi communities and recovery and voluntary deposits of largest quantity of weapons were the major events in the law and order front in the state. The state saw recovery/deposits of 757 arms, 5,983 assorted ammunition, 131 grenades, 26 IEDs and 52 kg of explosives. "The recovery in 2022 was even higher than the 1980 and 1990s when the Ulfa insurgency was at its peak," he said.

The CM further said that the state saw seizure of drugs worth Rs 781 crore including 111 kg of heroin and 48,000 kg of ganja. The same was Rs. 400 crore in 2021. "Local consumption of such drugs is less in Assam and the state is used as a transit to smuggle drugs to Punjab, Harayana and some other states. So by seizing the drugs here, Assam actually is performing a national duty. We also busted nine modules of Jihadi groups like Ansarul Bangla Team and al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-continent and arrested 51 persons in 2022. The direct involvement of nine Bangladesh nationals have also come info the fore," he said.

Sarma said Assam's economy was also progressing well.