Action Council, a collective of Anglo-Indian associations, staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar here on Thursday in protest against the 126th Constitutional Amendment that ended reservation for Anglo-Indians in Parliament and State Assemblies.
Speaking at the protest, Congress MP from Ernakulam Hibi Eden requested the government to reconsider its decision. He said the law was based on factually incorrect information. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, while tabling the Bill had quoted the 2011 Census, saying there are just 296 Anglo-Indians in the entire country. Mr. Eden said that in his constituency alone, there were 40,000 Anglo-Indians.
Former MP Charles Dias said there were over four lakh Anglo-Indians overall in the country. The lone non-nominated Anglo-Indian MP in Parliament, Derek O’ Brien, said the community with its substantial contribution to the country deserved to be represented in Parliament and Assemblies and its scattered nature prevented Anglo-Indians from getting an elected seat.
