Guwahati: The 12-hours Lahowal bandh on Wednesday against delimitation process has evoked mixed reactions among the public in Lahowal Assembly constituency in Dibrugarh.
The protesters burnt tyres on the National Highway in protest against the abolishment of Lahowal Assembly constituency.
The business community has put their shutters down in protest against the Election Commission of India(ECI) decission.
On June 20, 2023, the ECI published the draft proposal for delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies for Assam as provided for in Section 8-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
“Today, we have called the bandh against the withdrawal of Lahowal Assembly constituency by ECI through delimitation. We feel very bad because of the decission. The ECI should asked the people of Lahowal before publishing the first delimitation draft. Without the completion of NRC how could such process will be done,” said Jyoti Prasad Dutta, principal, Lahowal College.
He said, “I am not aware about the development. We suspected that on the basis of the report of some political representatives the Lahowal Assembly constituency was cut down through delimitation. We appeal to the ECI to withdrew their decission to cut down Lahowal,”.
“We will launch democratic protest against the the ECI decission to withdrew Lahowal Assembly constituency. Our emotion was attached with the Lahowal Assembly constituency. Without taking any views from us, how could they do it. Lahowal MLA Binod Hazarika is mum about the matter and not doing anything,” said Annapurna Nath, a woman activist of Lahowal.
Assembly and Parliamentary Constituencies in the state are to be delimited on the basis of the 2001 census as provided in Article 170 and Article 82 of the Constitution. The census figures of 2001, as published by the Census Commissioner have thus alone been considered for this purpose.