Chandigarh, April 4 The Punjab Congress on Saturday claimed that the proposed delimitation for the implementation of the Women's Reservation Act will put the state at a "significant disadvantage" and demanded that the Centre build consensus among all parties on the exercise.
In a statement issued here, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said that the government of India has convened an extended sitting of Parliament from April 16 to 18, with the official agenda to amend the Women's Reservation Act, 2023.
There are reports that the government may also pass a bill for the delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies across the country, he said.
While populous states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar stand to gain substantially, Punjab will be at an "overall disadvantage", he alleged.
The Congress leader claimed that according to the reported proposals, the Centre plans to increase the number of seats for both Parliament and state assemblies by 50 per cent.
This will not make any difference in the case of state assemblies, but smaller states like Punjab will be at a great disadvantage in the case of Parliament, Warring charged.
According to the reported proposals, he claimed, the number of MPs from Punjab will go to 20 (from the current 13) and that of lawmakers from Uttar Pradesh will be 120. This will give a great advantage to states like Uttar Pradesh in Parliament and can have "far-reaching consequences".
"When we will not have effective parliamentary strength, we will definitely stand to lose," Warring said.
He urged all political parties in Punjab to come together and come up with a strategy to oppose any such move.