From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: The Mizoram Bru Indigenous Democratic Movement (MBIDM) has sent a memorandum to the chief election commissioner seeking prompt action in favour of the voters from the Bru (Reang) community currently taking shelter in relief camps in northern Tripura.
The organisation, which represents the displaced people from the Bru community, has expressed serious concern at the demand by the NGO coordination committee in Mizoram that 600 names of Bru indigenous people be dropped from the electoral rolls, thereby “trying to deprive the bonafide citizens from exercising their constitutional right to franchise in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state”.
Speaking to The Shillong Times from Naisingpara in northern Tripura on Saturday, GB Herbert Reang, the president of the organisation, said that a memorandum has been sent to the CEC to highlight the “plight” of the community ahead of the polls.
“We have been demanding polling stations/booths for the displaced Bru community presently living in the relief camps in northern Tripura for their safety, security and lives of the inmates of the camps and for free and fair elections. Besides, it is difficult for the older voters to travel over 55km (from Naisingpara camp) to the polling booth on the border,” Reang said.
“Therefore, the Bru voters in Tripura should be allowed to vote from their camps,” he said.
It may be mentioned that the newly-appointed chief electoral officer, Ashish Kundra, who replaced SB Shashank, had a meeting with civil society groups on Friday and said that “there is an indication from the Election Commission of India that the Bru voters in Tripura would have to cast their votes inside Mizoram”, near the inter-state border.
MBIDM had in the memorandum to the CEC, stated that two the community’s candidates Biak Thuama (Mamit constituency) and Lalmingthanga (Hachhek constituency) have been threatened by the Mizo civil society organizations against contesting the elections.
“This is against the constitutional rights of representation in the election process in a democracy like India, which is condemnable and is a clear human rights violation,” it said.
The Bru group also alleged that first-time voters, who have attained 18 years of age, have “deliberately not been enrolled in the revised electoral rolls of Mizoram, which is a clear violation of constitutional right to franchise.”
There are over 35,000 people from the Reang community living in camps across Kanchanpur and Panisagar subdivisions of Tripura. Over 11,000 of these camp inmates have been enrolled in the voters list.