Guwahati, Aug 12 (PTI) Senior AGP MLA Pradip Hazarika resigned from all posts in his party on Saturday, protesting the abolition of his Amguri seat in the final delimitation report for assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam.
The opposition Raijor Dal protested against the delimitation report in Sivasagar district, while the All Tiwa Students’ Association demonstrated as its demand to reserve the Morigaon seat for tribals was not fulfilled.
The final report, which was published by the Election Commission (EC) on Friday, retained the number of assembly constituencies in the state at 126 and Lok Sabha seats at 14. However, it revised the nomenclature of one parliamentary and 19 assembly constituencies.
According to an EC statement, 19 assembly and two Lok Sabha constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), while nine assembly and one Lok Sabha constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs).
Hazarika, a former minister, said that he resigned from all posts in the AGP, including that of the general secretary. The AGP is a part of the BJP-led government in the state.
“I have failed my people in giving leadership. The draft delimitation proposal had done away with Amguri but we had made a strong pitch for retaining it. However, after the publication of the final report, we now know that our demand was not met,” he told reporters in Guwahati after sending his resignation to AGP chief Atul Bora.
However, Hazarika said that he has not resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Locals also protested against the abolition of the Amguri constituency, raising slogans against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Hazarika.
As the police prevented the protestors from burning effigies of Sarma and Hazarika, they stripped off their shirts to register their objection to the final delimitation report.
Raijor Dal activists protested near Sivasagar town, blocking the national highway for some time.
Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, the MLA of Sivasagar, stated that the final EC order is subject to the outcome of petitions filed by different political parties before the Supreme Court against the entire delimitation exercise.
Protesting against the delimitation report, the All Tiwa Students Association said, “We had submitted before the state government and the EC with evidence why Morigaon should be reserved for STs. But our demand has gone unheeded. We are forced to think that the government does not consider the Tiwas as indigenous people.” All assembly and parliamentary constituencies in the state were redrawn based on the 2001 census. The last delimitation exercise in Assam took place in 1976 on the basis of the 1971 census. PTI SSG SOM SOM
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