Delimitation not suitable to Nagaland—NDPP

Dimapur, March 8 (EMN): The Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) has stated that the central government’s recent notification to carry out delimitation exercise in Nagaland—along with three other Northeast states—is not in consonance with the prevailing situation in the state.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the party appealed to the People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA) government to urgently take up the matter with the government of India and “present our unique case to them so that we avoid misunderstandings and complications in the future”.

It stated that the delimitation exercise of 2008 based on the Census of 2001 had excluded Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland because of various reasons and according to the prevailing situation in the states at that point of time.

“Nagaland was excluded because of the ongoing political talks on the Naga issue and because the tribal hohos and various civil society organisations had raised objections to the procedure in which the process of delimitation was to be carried out which eventually led to the filing of various litigations in the Supreme Court of India on the issue.

“At that point of time, the state’s population census of 2001 was also put to question from various quarters since, in many areas there were population explosions which were as high as 300% over the 1991 census. Basing on these facts and evidences submitted, the government of India decided to suspend all delimitation related exercises in Nagaland till further notice. Therefore, Nagaland was excluded because of these reasons and not because of insurgency or law and order related situation as has been notified in the gazette of India dated February 28, 2020,” read the statement.

According to the NDPP, the recent notification of the government of India to proceed with the delimitation exercise in Nagaland may also not be conducive with the present situation prevailing in the state since the Naga political talks have reached an advanced stage and the people are only awaiting the possible inking of the final settlement.

“Also, with the likelihood of an increase in the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly and the Lok Sabha in the eventuality of a final settlement, it will definitely be in conflict with any delimitation exercise taken up at this juncture.

“The tribal equity and dynamics of district representations are also crucial factors involved in the process of delimitation and therefore, for any process that will affect these dynamics, it becomes imperative to first hold widespread consultations taking on board all tribal bodies, political parties, mass-based organisations, NGOs and all other stakeholders along with their views and opinions before such an important exercise like the process of delimitation is undertaken,” it maintained.

Further, the party pointed out that the Census operation for 2021 has already been notified, and due procedures are being put in place.

In such a scenario, it stated, to take up the delimitation process—where in the intervening years, there has already been another census conducted in 2011—would be futile when a new census is set to be carried out in the coming months and year.