Staff Reporter
Guwahati: UPPL chief and MP Pramod Boro today urged the Government of India that population should not be the only deciding criterion in delimitation for the Northeast region.
Talking to the media in New Delhi today, Pramod Boro said, “Population alone can’t be the sole criterion for the NE for delimitation. The region’s geographical vulnerability, ethnic diversity, strategic border context, historical conflicts, and constitutional protection require a more sensitive and context-aware framework.”
Boro appealed to the Government of India and all political parties to recognize that Bodoland, Assam and the NE require a special democratic framework within the national constitutional process; historical accords and peace commitments must be respected; constitutional reforms must become a tool for inclusion, justice, peace and balanced federalism; the Sixth Schedule councils must receive central considerations in any restructuring of representations; and women’s representation must be implemented in a way that expands and does not diminish.
He further said that there are nearly 200 communities in the NE region, many of whom have never received adequate or proportionate democratic visibility in the national political system. In several cases, inadequate constitutional and legislative space has contributed to alienation and instability. “If India is serious about durable peace and national integration, then constitutional reforms must create room for meaningful political participation by all sections in the region,” he added.
He went on to appeal to the Government of India, “The Northeast cannot be approached with mechanical formulas or episodic attention. Its ecological fragility, ethnic plurality, border sensitivities, peace processes and institutional complexity demand wisdom, compassion, constitutional sensitivity, and consensus for political leadership and bureaucracy.”
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