Region
APHLC reiterates removal of illegal names from electoral rolls
Our Correspondent
Diphu, July 16 (EMN): The All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) on Friday submitted a memorandum to the CEM of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) in Diphu urging the council to remove illegal names of non-ST people from electoral rolls.
“We have submitted a memorandum to KAAC regarding deletion of names of illegal non-schedule tribe encroachers from electoral rolls for election to the council. Under the initiative of the Sixth Schedule Implementation Committee, the Hills Peoples Voters submitted several memorandums beginning since Sept. 20, 2016 requesting the council to make Council Election Law for conduct, including preparation of electoral rolls, under Paragraph 2, Sub-Paragraph 7 of the Sixth Schedule to the constitution of India. However, KAAC has not made the law. Several organisations have now joined the movement and held democratic and non-violent protests, which clearly shows that the council has violated the Sixth Schedule and the constitution of India by acting against the marginalised Scheduled Tribes people. Therefore, the organisations have filed a PIL petition in the Gauhati High Court registered as PIL Case No.9/2017”, JI Kathar informed in a press conference.
The memorandum stated that on May 13, 2018, the Gauhati High Court delivered their final Judgment directing the KAAC to make the Council Election Law within six months under Paragraph 2, Sub-Paragraph 7 of the Sixth Schedule to the constitution of India. Unofficially KAAC requested the High Court to grant them one-year time. The High Court also mentioned in Paragraph 9 of the final Judgment that the Standing Counsel made a statement that the rules for conducting the election to the council would be framed within 12 months. However, three years have passed and the KAAC has not made the law.
During a meeting with several social and political organisations on April 13, 2021, the council held a meeting with governor of Assam and requested him to approve a Bill drafted by the Executive Committee under Paragraph 2, Sub-Paragraph 7 of the Sixth Schedule as per the judgment of the Gauhati High Court regarding the election rules, but the governor did not approve the draft Bill. Since, the Governor is also a party to the PIL Case No.9/2017 as he is one of the respondents at No.8 in the case. Therefore, he has committed contempt of the Judgment dated April 13, 2021 of the Gauhati High Court by not approving the draft Bill submitted by KAAC. Under Article 163 of the constitution of India, the state of Assam led by the council of ministers must advise the governor of Assam to approve the draft Bill for making the KAAC Election Rules. The BJP is preventing the poor Hills Scheduled Tribes from progressing and protecting themselves by preventing them from exercising their basic constitutional powers.
The APHLC demanded that the Assam State Election Commission constituted under Section 114 of the Assam Panchayat Act, 1994 must not be asked and must not be allowed to conduct elections of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council.
Moreover, KAAC has been blaming the Assam Governor and the council of ministers for not approving the draft Bill of Council Election Rules prepared under Paragraph 2, Sub-Paragraph 7 of the Sixth Schedule, but the council has not revealed the bill to Hills Tribes people till now. The APHLC and all other tribes people as stakeholders are being kept in the dark about the contents of the draft Bill. The APHLC demanded KAAC to show them an authentic copy of the said draft Bill for study.
Further, The KAAC and the government must conduct all the elections of Autonomous Councils under the Sixth Schedule by following The Assam Autonomous Districts (Constitution of District Councils) Rules, 1951 as mandated by Paragraph 2, Sub-Paragraph 7, Clauses (a) and (b) of the Sixth Schedule to the constitution of India. Names of non-tribal persons, who entered Karbi Anglong less than 12 years prior to the date of commencement of the district after 1938 shall not have power to enter their names in the Council Voters Lists. We demand that the KAAC itself must prepare separate Council Electoral Rolls by deleting non-tribal names of D-Voters names of about 1,60,000 persons who did not figure in the NRC but are in Karbi Anglong. Therefore, the APHLC urged KAAC to give all and every developmental facilities only to the marginalised and poverty stricken tribes people and thereby prevent them from becoming slaves, child labours, flesh traders, impoverished labours in metro cities and prevent them from being murdered and being burnt to death or untraceable.