New Delhi, April 1 – The Congress party expressed concerns on Wednesday about a proposed bill to increase the size of the Lok Sabha, arguing that it could exacerbate the existing disparities between northern and southern states and put the latter at a political disadvantage.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh used the social media platform X to criticize the proposal, alleging that the government plans to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha by 50 percent, along with a proportional increase in the number of seats allocated to each state.
"The Modi government is proposing to pass a bill to increase the size of the Lok Sabha by 50 percent. The number of seats allocated to each state is also proposed to be increased by 50 percent," he said.
Ramesh argued that the claim of equitable distribution through a uniform increase in seats is misleading.
"The argument that a 50 percent increase in seats across the board is equitable is deceptive. The proportions may not change immediately, but there are deeper implications that cannot be ignored," he added.
Highlighting potential regional imbalances, he stated that any increase in the existing gap in representation among states would disproportionately affect southern states.
"Any increase in the existing strengths of different states in the Lok Sabha will put South Indian states at a disadvantage. For example, currently Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats and Tamil Nadu has 39. With the proposed bill, UP's strength will increase to 120, while Tamil Nadu will increase to at most 59. Similarly, Kerala will increase from 20 Lok Sabha seats to 30 seats, while Bihar will move from 40 to 60 seats. Overall, the southern states will gain 66 seats, while the northern states will gain 200 seats," he said.
Ramesh alleged that the move could disadvantage smaller states across the South, Northeast, and West.
"Mr. Modi is unilaterally preparing a law that will disadvantage smaller states in the South, Northeast, and West. The Chief Minister of Telangana has already raised an alarm. Others may very well follow as this proposal becomes officially public," he said.
Earlier, on March 26, A. Revanth Reddy had also expressed strong reservations about the proposal, calling it a "hidden conspiracy" that could politically disadvantage southern India.
In September 2023, the new Parliament House was inaugurated with the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill – or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 – which amended the Constitution to provide for one-third reservation of women in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, and also provided for one-third reservation for women in seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.