MDA on Wednesday lauded Centre’s decision of deferring delimitation in four north-east states including Manipur.
Addressing a press conference here, MDA convener N Tombi Singh said the alliance welcomed the decision of the Central government, terming it a right step.
He said delimitation was welcomed, but MDA had strongly opposed the exercise based on an erratic census report. It should be done based on a fresh and credible census.
He reminded the opposition registered by the alliance when the Centre attempted to hold the delimitation exercise based on the 2001 census. There were many errors in the 2001 census, he added.
In response to the objection letter, they had received a letter from the Delimitation Commission acknowledging the objection in January this year.
It was after receiving the acknowledgement letter from the commission that the Union ministry of law and justice affairs issued a gazette notification omitting the north-eastern states of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh from the delimitation on March 3 last, he said.
Following the gazette notification, a division bench of High Court of Manipur on Tuesday disposed of a PIL filed by the MDA against the delimitation exercise in the state based on the erratic census report, he informed.
The convener said that Centre might have taken the decision to defer the delimitation exercise in the four north-eastern states, particularly in Manipur after studying the intelligence report and the state government’s and political parties’ reactions.
Not only Manipur but Assam had also filed four petitions in the Supreme Court and one petition by Nagaland, he said.
The Centre had formed a Delimitation Commission with tenure of one year to effect delimitation in Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir.
It was against the Centre’s previous decision to withhold delimitation in the north-east states till 2026,” he said.
