Jharkhand Congress leader Bandhu Tirkey warns of resistance to Delimitation exercise

Jharkhand Congress leader Bandhu Tirkey on Saturday said he feared the BJP-led Centre could undertake the delimitation exercise this year and warned that tribal communities in the state would oppose it if it were based on the 2007-08 delimitation report.

Tirkey was speaking at a meeting held to discuss preparations for the proposed ‘Adivasi Mahajutaan Rally’ scheduled for Sunday. He said the rally would be used to highlight what he described as “wrong policies” of the Central government.

“We feel that the Centre will certainly go for delimitation this year,” Tirkey said, adding that tribal communities would not accept an exercise based on the 2007-08 report. He demanded that the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes increase proportionately.

The Delimitation Commission’s report was accepted by the Centre on February 14, 2008. However, the delimitation exercise in Jharkhand, along with Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, was deferred until 2026 through a subsequent parliamentary amendment.

Jharkhand’s current Assembly structure is based on the 1971 Census. Of the 81 Assembly seats, 28 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Five of the state’s 14 Lok Sabha seats are also reserved for ST communities.

Tirkey also said the rally would highlight what he described as the impact of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill on Jharkhand.

He alleged that the Centre’s amendments would reduce the state’s ability to levy taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land while allowing greater extraction of coal from Jharkhand.

Tirkey said the JMM-Congress government in Jharkhand would approach the Supreme Court against the amended mining law and, if necessary, consider an economic blockade in the state.

with inputs from PTI