Cachar BJP Condemns Call for Bandh; District President Bimalendu Roy Urges People to Keep Shops and Offices Open

Throughout the day, there have been reports suggesting that Assam’s Chief Minister, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, criticized the Cachar BJP contingent, accusing them of covertly opposing the proposed delimitation. When questioned by journalists in the afternoon about the ongoing protests in Barak Valley, the Chief Minister stated that he had met with the BJP contingent from Silchar and they had “expressed gratitude” for the proposed draft of delimitation.

Later in the evening, Dr. Rajdeep Roy, the MP of Silchar, who had been avoiding the press in Silchar, provided a statement to the Guwahati Press. During the interaction, he mentioned meeting with the “CM Sir” and “Ashok Singhal Da” to discuss certain aspects of the delimitation.

Soon after, a letter arrived from the district headquarters, accompanied by a statement from Bimalendu Roy, the Cachar district president of the BJP. Roy emphatically condemned the call for a strike the following day and urged the people of the district to actively participate in their respective duties.

Cachar BJP president, Roy of Cachar added, “Opposition parties have been spreading misinformation regarding the delimitation. We urge the public not to pay attention to the lies being disseminated by certain opposition parties with vested interests.”

While Bimalendu Roy accuses the organizers of the strike of spreading falsehoods, it is a fact that the Delimitation draft proposed by the Election Commission of India seeks to reduce the representation of Barak Valley from the existing 15 seats to 13. With the population surpassing the four million mark, there are valid concerns about the justification for this reduction in seats. Additionally, the delimitation has altered the boundaries of legislative constituencies in a manner that favors the BJP and their vote bank politics.

The conveners of the strike have made it clear that they support initiatives aimed at the development of the SC and ST communities and would be content if seats were reinstated and reserved for the SC. They perceive the reduction of Barak Valley’s representation as a deliberate attempt to undermine their ability to participate in key decision-making processes while simultaneously hindering the development of the already underdeveloped districts.