Manipur BJP to form committee on delimitation

Imphal: BJP in Manipur will set up a 13-member committee to look into the issue of delimitation exercise in the state, senior party MLA Kh Ibomcha said on Thursday. The saffron party also reiterated that it has no objection to delimitation in the state as long as it is based on an authentic census. "In a recent meeting of BJP MLAs, it was decided to form a 13-member delimitation committee to address the issue. The party is making all efforts to resolve the matter in the state," Ibomcha said. Of the 13 members, 12 will be MLAs and one will be from the office bearers of the party's state unit, a senior leader said.

Ibomcha said, "Manipur BJP has no objection to delimitation as long as it is based on an authentic census. However, the proposed delimitation which is to be conducted based on a census report (2001) which is full of irregularities would be a false step." At a meeting held on Tuesday, BJP MLAs of Manipur sought a ‘review' of the 2001 Census and implementation of the NRC before carrying out delimitation exercise in the state. The demand for a review of the 2001 census came a few days after 13 other parties urged the Centre to defer the delimitation exercise in the state until the ‘errors' in the headcount that year are rectified.

The Supreme Court on Mar 17 granted three months to the Centre for carrying out the delimitation exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Assam. The Centre had informed the top court while consultations were underway for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the ongoing violence in Manipur made the situation not conducive for the exercise. PTI