EC move to redraw Assam constituencies attracts flak

Opposition parties in Assam have slammed the Election Commission’s (EC) proposal to redraw the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies in the State

GUWAHATI

Opposition parties in Assam have slammed the Election Commission’s (EC) proposal to redraw the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies in the State, although the numbers remained unchanged at 14 and 126 respectively.

The poll body published the draft delimitation proposals on June 20.

Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah sniffed a conspiracy behind the EC’s rush to publish the draft when the Supreme Court has been hearing the matter.

“The apex court fixed July 25 as the final date of hearing on the delimitation plan. It is surprising that the EC did not wait for the Supreme Court’s judgement,” he said, adding that the EC failed to respond to certain clarifications Congress had sought on the exercise.

“The EC appears to have become an extended arm of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” Mr. Borah said.

Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia said his party has never been against delimitation but the exercise could have waited till the streamlining of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for proper reflection of the State’s demography.