'Stronger indigenous presence' in 103 Assam Assembly seats after 2023 delimitation: BJP

GUWAHATI: The BJP in Assam on Sunday claimed that significant progress had been made in securing the political and land rights of the states indigenous population under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. To support this claim, the party stated that over 103 of the states 126 Assembly constituencies would now show a stronger indigenous presence, owing to the 2023 delimitation exercise. the recent delimitation exercise reportedly ensured that more than 103 Assembly constituencies would now reflect a stronger indigenous presence, an outcome the party described as a major step toward long-standing political safeguards, the BJP said in a statement. Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of an official programme, the chief minister indicated that the remaining 23 constituencies are those where Bengali Muslims are in a majority. The Congress will contest 22 seats (in next years Assembly elections), Sarma said. Miyas are the oxygen of the Congress. The politics of Congress revolves around Miyas, he further stated. Miya is a pejorative term used in Assam to refer to Bengali Muslims. When asked about the 22 constituencies, Sarma mentioned five Bengali Muslim-majority seats. He reiterated that he would keep pestering suspected Miyas as long as he remained in office. The eviction drive will continue while polygamy will be stopped, he asserted. The BJP further claimed that 1.5 lakh bighas of land belonging to Satras (Vaishnavite monasteries), forests and tribal communities had been reclaimed through the eviction drive, which largely affected Bengali Muslims. Meanwhile, the state government and the All Assam Students Union (AASU) reached a consensus on most recommendations of a committee formed to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. Both the Assam government and the AASU reached consensus on most State-level recommendations of the High-Level Committee, with a new review committee to be formed for timely implementation, the CMO posted on X after a meeting between both sides on Saturday. Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, signed between the Centre and the AASU in 1985, promised constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to protect the cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.