Delimitation based on faulty 2001 census would be a folly : Joy

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Mar 28 : Veteran politician Okram Joy has stated that carrying out delimitation in Manipur based on the unreliable 2001 Census reports would have disastrous consequences.
Notably, Joy is a former associate member of the Delimitation Commission of India's Manipur unit and a former Law and Legislative Affairs Minister.
Speaking to The Sangai Express regarding the recent directive of the Supreme Court to complete the delimitation process in Manipur and some other States within three months, Joy said that the BJP Government's push for delimitation goes against a previous agreement to withhold the process in Manipur until the 2026 Census.
He also said that delimitation in Manipur should only happen after a proper population count, and not based on the 2001 Census.
The 2001 Census is unreliable, Joy reiterated, cautioning that going ahead with the delimitation in Manipur before the 2026 Census would exacerbate the current crisis.
The ex-Minister reminded that a Cabinet meeting presided by former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi on September 21, 2005 and an all political party meeting convened at CM's Secretariat on October 22, 2005  resolved to oppose delimitation based on the 2001 Census.
He went on to state that the previous Congress Government convened a special session of the State Assembly on August 1, 2007 after the Supreme Court issued a directive to conduct delimitation in Manipur based on the 2001 Census.
The special Assembly session in 2007 took a resolution to urge the Centre to postpone all delimitation processes until a new Census is conducted as abnormal population growth were recorded in several places in the 2001 Census such as Chakpikarong, Machi, Moreh, Saitu, Chandel etc, he said.
He asserted that conducting delimitation in Manipur based on the 2001 Census would be a misguided move as the State Assembly  vehemently opposed it during the Congress tenure.
In 2007, a high-level delegation led by former Chief Minister Ibobi also met former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former Union Home Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and urged them to postpone delimitation in Manipur until a fair and accurate Census is conducted, he reminded.
According to Joy, the members of the delegation led by Ibobi included former Deputy Chief Minister L Chandramani, former BJP Manipur president Dr H Borbabu, ex-MLA Phung-zathang Tonsing, Elangbam Kunjakishore,  Sarat Salam of CPI (M), Congress's E Dwijamani and himself among others.
Saying that the UPA Government put a hold on delimitation in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Naga-land, and Assam with a notification on February 8, 2008, he added that the BJP-led NDA Government, however, cancelled the notification on February 28, 2020.
Joy said that he submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister on December 10, 2020, requesting that delimitation be postponed until a new Census is conducted.
Saying that Manipur's population growth between 1971 and 2011 grossly exceeded the National average, Joy elaborated that the population growth in hill districts was recorded at 250.9 per cent.
Valley districts, on the other hand, recorded a population growth of 125.4 per cent in the period (1971-2011), he said.