Guwahati, July 10: Rajya Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress leader Sushmita Dev on Monday staged 10-hours hunger strike in protest against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) proposed delimitation draft.
Dev expressed her displeasure in a letter to Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on July 7, stating her reservations about the RCO’s delimitation draft.
Dev’s hunger strike aimed to bring to light the reduction of assembly seats in Assam’s Barak Valley, as well as the ECI’s plans to delimit the state’s 126 assembly seats and 14 Lok Sabha seats.
Speaking to media persons, Susmita Dev said, “The delimitation process is against the spirit of constitution. Why before 2026, the delimitation process has been started. The delimitation exercise has been done on the basis of 2001 census. Why not on the basis of 2011 census? Bark Valley will be losing seats..due to the delimitation process,”.
Dev cited constitutional provisions, citing Articles 80 and 170 of the Indian Constitution, which declare that seat reallocation is unnecessary until the first census after 2026 is published.
She questioned the logic of starting the delimitation process in Assam so soon before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, given that seat numbers cannot be enhanced until after the 2026 census.
On the other hand, Susmita Dev was not given ticket from TMC this time.
Also read: Assam to weed out ‘ghost schools and teachers’: Education minister Ranoj Pegu
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