Guwahati: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday slammed Congress for criticising the state’s recent delimitation exercise, accusing the party of misusing the term “gerrymandering” to mislead the public, asserting that delimitation in Assam was carried out to protect a civilisation from being “devoured” by illegal migration.With the opposition alleging that the Centre had tied the Women’s Quota Bill to a new delimitation exercise, based on the 2011 Census, to manipulate constituency boundaries for political advantage through “gerrymandering”, which literally means redrawing the boundaries of an area to favour a particular party or candidate, Himanta said Assam’s delimitation was not a conspiracy, but a correction, which was long overdue, after decades of political neglect and vote-bank appeasement.Accusing Congress of attempting to “delegitimise” delimitation, Himanta, in a post on X, wrote, “For years, especially in Lower Assam region, unchecked demographic changes reshaped constituencies while Congress and its ecosystem chose silence because it suited their electoral interests. The real distortion of representation happened then, not now.”“Gerrymandering — Congress’ ill-informed cabal has been excessively using this term to delegitimise Assam’s delimitation exercise and in turn misinform the nation. Don’t fall for their propaganda,” Himanta further wrote.“It, in fact, reflects the aspirations of the people of Assam and is yet only a stop-gap arrangement to prevent our civilisation from being devoured by illegal migration,” Himanta stated.“Today, when boundaries are being realigned to reflect ground realities, the same Congress leaders, backed by the Left ecosystem, are crying “gerrymandering.” That argument is not just weak, it is outright hypocritical. They are not defending democracy; they are defending a system that benefited them politically,” the CM added.While some have criticised the 2023 Assam delimitation exercise, based on which the recent assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were conducted, Himanta said it was about restoring balance and safeguarding indigenous Assamese representation, noting that the process ensured that those rooted in the land, its culture, language and identity, were not politically sidelined in their own state.“The truth is simple: Those opposing this exercise are uncomfortable because it challenges the very imbalance they once exploited and pushed Assam to the perils!” Himanta added.
