New Delhi, April 5 The Congress launched a scathing attack on the Modi government on Sunday over its delimitation proposal related to the implementation of the women's reservation law, saying it will benefit larger and populous states more and is nothing but a "weapon of mass distraction".
The opposition party also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "misleading" people by claiming that the strength of the southern states in the Lok Sabha will not go down under the proposed changes as the gap in the number of seats between the more populous states and others will increase.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The PM is up to his usual tricks of making misleading statements that are meant to deceive. He says South Indian states will not be hurt in any way if the strength of the Lok Sabha is increased by 50% and the number of seats of each state in the Lok Sabha is also increased by 50%."
"This is misleading the people of the country in which the PM has unique expertise," he said.
For example, the difference between Uttar Pradesh's and Kerala's seats in the Lok Sabha is now 60 and Modi's proposal will increase it to 90, he said.
Similarly, the difference between Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will increase from 41 to at least 61, Ramesh said, adding that such examples can be multiplied.
"Mr. Modi is bulldozing a proposal that will work more to the benefit of larger and populous states since their already large numbers will get further magnified," the Congress leader said.
It is not just south India but states like Punjab and Haryana and those in the northeast that will also see their relative influence decline, he argued.
"The nation is facing a serious economic and foreign policy crisis. All that the PM is bothered about is pushing through an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas without meaningful consultations and widespread public debate. This is nothing but a Weapon of Mass Distraction (WMD)," Ramesh said.
Tagging Ramesh's post, Congress MP Manish Tewari said Jairam Ramesh is absolutely prescient and the framing by PM Modi is absolutely erroneous.
"The framing must be how much will Southern India, Western India, North Eastern India and North Western India lose in terms of political heft as compared to the Hindi heartland states of India in terms of the gap in the number of Parliamentary seats between them and the Hindi heartland states," Tewari said.
The Chandigarh MP noted that states and Union territories like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi together have just 40 seats in the Lok Sabha, as opposed to Uttar Pradesh's 80.
"This gap will only further increase" post delimitation, he said.
"Whatever @PMOIndia & @BJP4India is proposing that is yet unclear will further skew the Federal Balance to the detriment of the non Hindi heartland states," Tewari said in his post.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the basis of the proposed women's reservation, asserting that a fresh census must be completed before taking up the issue of reserving seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies.
Congress MP P Chidambaram said the proposal to convene Parliament from April 16-18 is "mischievous" and must be opposed.
He pointed out that polling in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal is scheduled later in April and 39 MPs of Tamil Nadu and 28 MPs of West Bengal are in the opposition benches in the Lok Sabha.
They will be fully engaged in their constituencies from April 16 to 18, Chidambaram said on X.
If critical Constitution amendment bills are brought for discussion and to vote on those dates, how will these 67 MPs in the Lok Sabha participate and vote, he asked.
"I suspect that the design is to exclude these MPs," he alleged.
"Since the drafts of the Bills that the government proposes to introduce in Parliament on April 16-18 have not been revealed, I cannot comment on the substance of the Bills. But the Hon'ble Prime Minister's speech yesterday gives a hint on what the Bills are likely to contain," he said.
"The proposal to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 548 (current strength 543) to 816 is retrograde and will widen the difference between the more populous States and the Southern States that have stabilised their population," Chidambaram said.
Reservation of one-third of the seats for women in the Lok Sabha can be achieved by reserving one-third of the current strength of seats, he said.
A Lok Sabha with 816 members will become a large and unwieldy gathering with each member having fewer occasions and lesser time to speak, he argued.
What can an MP say when he or she has an opportunity to speak once in three months and for no more than a few minutes, Chidambaram said.
He further asked what is the tearing hurry to convene Parliament on April 16 and why cannot Parliament be convened on April 29.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the issue has never been about whether the number of Lok Sabha seats of southern states increases, it is the concern about how they increase and who benefits disproportionately.
"Under the proposed expansion, while every state may see an increase, the rate and scale of increase clearly favour BJP-dominated states. Uttar Pradesh is expected to go from 80 to 120 seats (+40), Maharashtra from 48 to 72 (+24), Bihar from 40 to 60 (+20), Madhya Pradesh from 29 to 43-44 (+14-15), Rajasthan from 25 to 37-38 (+12-13), and Gujarat from 26 to 39 (+13).
"In contrast, southern states see smaller gains. Karnataka rises from 28 to 42 (+14), Tamil Nadu from 39 to 58-59 (+20), Andhra Pradesh from 25 to 37-38 (+12-13), Telangana from 17 to 25-26 (+8-9), and Kerala from 20 to 30 (+10)," Siddaramaiah said.
"The numbers are telling. Five southern states together gain barely 63-66 additional seats, while just these seven BJP-dominated states gain about 128-131 seats - nearly double," he said.
Such a structural change cannot be pushed without consultations or public debate, Siddaramaiah added.
The remarks by opposition leaders came a day after Prime Minister Modi said the Budget session of Parliament has been extended for three days so that the law enacted in 2023 for providing 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be implemented from 2029.
The session will reconvene on April 16 after a brief recess to pass bills to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 so that the women's reservation law can be implemented at the earliest.
Addressing an NDA election rally in Kerala on Saturday, Modi said the government will ensure, during the April 16-18 Parliament sitting, a legal stamp that no state, whether it is Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, or Telangana, will see a reduction in Lok Sabha seats.