Delimitation will do what Assam Accord, NRC couldn’t: Himanta

On Tuesday, the ECI had published a draft proposal for delimitation of the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies in Assam. The ongoing exercise is the first in Assam since 1976.

“Few days back, with the efforts of the Assam government and the Central government, the ECI published a draft of delimitation of our constituencies. If this draft is approved and comes into reality, then the people of Assam will be dominant in 102 constituencies and the people of Assam will be able to elect their representatives,” Sarma said.

Referring to the long-standing suspicions and fears in the state of “illegal immigration” from Bangladesh and subsequent demographic changes, Sarma invoked the slogan “jati-mati-bheti” (community-land-foundation), which was first used when the BJP came to power in the state in 2016.

Sarma also pitched new welfare schemes: free medical treatment up to Rs 5 lakh annually for ration card holders; Rs 2 lakh funds to 2 lakh youth to promote entrepreneurship; as well as Rs 10,000 for all women connected to self-help groups in the state to kickstart enterprises. He also said an environment conducive for studying has to be prioritised in Assam, else seats in medical and engineering colleges will be dominated by “Ajmal’s people” – a reference to coaching provided by the Ajmal Foundation, run by AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, and the performance of its students in competitive exams.