Delhi: In support of and to show solidarity towards the demand for Delimitation exercise in the 4 NE states, the Tangkhul Katamnao Long Delhi along with its advisory board chairman Mr Worso Zimik, today took part in the sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar organised by NESFOD.
Hundreds of students as well as aggrieved people hailing from the North East States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland took part in the Mass Rally/Dharna under the aegis of North East Students’ Federation on Delimitation (NESFOD) to demand an early delimitation in four North Eastern states pursuant to the Delimitation Act, 2002 and Section 8A of the People’s Representation (Amendment) Act, 2008.
The sit in protest/Dharna followed the submission of a Memorandum by the NESFOD to the Prime Minister of India, PMO, Requesting for an early Delimitation exercise in the four North-Eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.
Simply put, the delimitation process in the four North East states was put on hold by the Presidential Ordinance in 2008 in the pretext of prevailing law and order situations in these states on account of non-prevailing ‘conducive situation’ to which the NESFOD argued that the very basis for withholding delimitation exercise in these four North East states, on account of non-prevailing ‘conducive situation’ is totally based on misconception and highly deplorable.
To prove the point, the NESFOD asked if ‘conducive situations’ prevails for conducting elections but not for the delimitation exercise in the same States, as elections (both Parliamentary and State Legislative Assembly elections) have been conducted peacefully in the past two decades in these four North East states without any issue of law-and-order problems.
It is important to note that the delimitation exercises in the whole country have already been completed more than a decade back in 2008 except in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.
“The people of the four North East states have been knocking on the doors of the Central Government and Election Commission of India several times by submitting memorandums after memorandums but all have fallen to deaf ears. The Government of India and ECI have turned a blind eye to injustice done to the people of these four North East states.
In view of the above, we urge you to kindly ponder on the following questions:
Are the people of these four North East states not citizens of India?
Are the people of these four North East states also not equally entitled to fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution of India with people of rest of the country?
Is this not a discrimination by the Govt of India and ECI to the people of these four North East states?
For how long will the people of these four North East states wait for delimitation exercise to happen in their States?
Therefore, in all fairness, the four North East states deserved equal treatment per-se with rest of India either by constituting a commission under the Delimitation Act 2002 or through the ECI under Section 8A of the RP Act 1950 as there are no more justifiable reasons for withholding the delimitation exercises in these four North East states.
In view of the above, we humbly request you once again to initiate the process of delimitation in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland in pursuit of the delimitation Act, 2002 and under section 8A of the RP Act, 2008 at earliest possible. If no immediate action is initiated by the government and Election Commission of India to start the delimitation exercise in the said four North Eastern states, we will continue to intensify our democratic movements in coming days until justice is done,” stated the Memorandum.