Delimitation: EC overlooked SC’s view, says Gaurav Gogoi

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi. File photo

GUWAHATI:

The Election Commission overlooked the observations of the Supreme Court to finalise the delimitation of the Parliament and Assembly constituencies in Assam, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said on Wednesday.

He also said delimitation notification released by the EC on August 11 for the 126 Assembly and 14 Lok Sabha seats in the State bore the BJP’s stamp all over it and would benefit the Badruddin Ajmal-led All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).

Mr. Gogoi represents Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency that has undergone a change in shape and renamed as Kaziranga. The AIUDF has been a competitor of Congress in more than 30 Muslim-dominated Assembly constituencies in Assam.

The delimitation, based on the 2001 Census, renamed one Lok Sabha and 19 Assembly seats while increasing the number of Assembly seats for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes from 16 to 19 and eight to nine respectively.

“In an ongoing case, the Supreme Court sought specific clarifications from the EC on certain flaws in the delimitation draft it had issued earlier. Instead of clarifying and waiting for the final order of the apex court, the EC went ahead with the final delimitation order,” Mr. Gogoi told presspersons in Guwahati.

“The delimitation makes it clear that the BJP has targeted Congress, which won the Kaliabor, Nagaon, and Barpeta Lok Sabha seats (in 2019). This has been done to benefit the AIUDF, exposing the nexus between the BJP and the AIUDF,” he said.

“But if the BJP is mistaken if it thinks the new delimitation of Assam will help it in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The mood is for the INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance) across the country and Assam as well,” he added.

Mr. Gogoi accused the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre of trying to “undermine” the Supreme Court by introducing a Bill in Parliament seeking to exclude the Chief Justice of India from the panel to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners months after the apex court’s Constitution Bench revamped the selection mechanism for their appointments. The Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on August 10.

The Congress MP alleged that there was a pattern in the BJP’s bid to “almost insult” the Supreme Court by first pushing the Assam delimitation plan through and then trying to remove its influence on the EC.