All Party Meeting Representatives Criticise DC Rohan Junar Jha for Tardiness, Stages Walkout

On his last day as the District Commissioner (DC) of Cachar, Rohan Kumar Jha faced strong criticism after an all-party meeting called to release the draft of the panchayat delimitation ended in a walkout. The meeting, held at the DC Office in Silchar, was set to address the new boundary plans for the panchayat areas. However, a two-hour delay from the DC led to frustration among political representatives, resulting in their staged exit. The representatives of the parties have blamed Jha for being busy with his “farewell gala” while they waited for his arrival at his conference room.

The primary complaint centred around the lack of adequate time to review the draft and raise objections. Sushmita Dev, MP of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), voiced her concerns, stating, “On September 17, a new notification for panchayat boundaries was released. We’ve been given just three days to submit objections. With 163 Gaon Panchayats (GPs) and 27 Zila Parishads affected, how can we study and respond to the draft in such a short time? It feels like the government is forcing this delimitation on us.”

Adding to her criticism, Dev highlighted, “For today’s meeting they have not provided us with any guideline or any list. They have just called the meeting for the sake of it and show-off. I ask this question to the CEO of Zila Parishad when CM Himanta Biswa Sharma kept postponing the corporation election of Silchar saying that there was a high court case as the people of the panchayat area didn’t want to the included in the corporation, how did they draw the boundaries of the panchayat area now? This entire delimitation is an illegal exercise in Cachar and a government conspiracy”.

Congress District President Abhijit Paul echoed Dev’s frustration, comparing the meeting to a school assembly where attendees were expected to comply without question. “We haven’t even been given access to the draft document,” Paul added. “We’ve demanded at least a two-day extension to submit our objections. It felt like we were in school and the meeting was with the principal where we had no say”.

Representatives from other political parties, including the AIUDF and CPM, also expressed their outrage. AIUDF’s Shaminul Haque condemned the DC’s absence, calling it “disrespectful to the people of the villages.” He criticised the boundary changes in Sonai, where the number of GPs was reduced from 24 to 18, accusing the government of political manipulation rather than following geographic logic.

CPM representative Dulal Mitra described the delimitation process as authoritarian and called for a democratic approach, while also joining the demand for a two-day extension for submitting objections.

With tensions high and the delimitation process under scrutiny, the district administration’s handling of the situation has come under fire from across the political spectrum.