Boko: The delimitation draft published by the Election Commission of India is threatening to damage the social fabric in several regions of Assam.
The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) proposal to abolish the former Chhaygaon constituency and replace it with the 27th Samaria constituency has angered members of the Scheduled Caste Community.
Members of the SC community held a protest meeting at Ram Saraswati playground in Samaria on Friday and staged a sit-in at the office of the Samaria Revenue Circle Officer. They chanted slogans like ‘Reserve 27th Samaria constituency for SCs’, ‘Our demands are justified’ and ‘No SC No Rest’.
The 27th Samaria constituency would consist of the existing Samaria block of the Boko constituency and the Garaimari block of the Chhaygaon constituency. However, the proposed Samaria constituency has a higher SC population than the SC population living in the existing Boko constituency reserved for SCs.
The protesters requested the Government of Assam, the Government of India and the Election Commission of India to reserve the proposed 27th Samaria constituency for the Scheduled Castes.
After the protest, the protesters handed over a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Assam, the Election Commission of India, the District Deputy Commissioner and the Chairman of the Assam Constituency Redetermination Committee through the Chamaria Revenue Circle Officer.
One protestor, Sanjay Sarkar, said, “The Assam government talks about protecting the Assamese nation, and this government talks about protecting the existence of indigenous people…the proposed constituency includes Samaria Satra, Malibari Satra, Malncha Satra and Dari Satra. The land of these Satras has already been encroached, and this land has not been encroached by indigenous Assamese. These satras must be preserved, and to preserve the proposed Samaria constituency No. 27 must be reserved for the Scheduled Castes. Therefore, the Government of Assam and the Chief Minister of Assam should reconsider this matter.”
The draft, however, was welcomed by the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council, which took out rallies on the NH-17 in Boko in Kamrup district and Dudhnai in Goalpara district and requested the Election Commission to uphold the draft permanently
