Hyderabad, February 27 – Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent assurance that the southern states would not lose any parliamentary seats due to delimitation has triggered sharp criticism from both the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president B Mahesh Kumar Goud expressed concerns over the delimitation process, urging the Centre to consult all states before proceeding. “We have certain doubts about the delimitation process. The central government has a responsibility to clarify them. We will not accept even a seat being reduced,” Goud stated.
Amit Shah’s remarks came in response to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s claim that the exercise would disproportionately impact southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu, which he alleged could lose up to eight of its 39 Lok Sabha seats. Stalin has scheduled an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss the issue.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had voiced strong opposition to the proposed delimitation, arguing that it was yet another move by the Centre to marginalize South Indian states. “It should be opposed as it will damage democracy. Why should South Indian states be punished for effectively implementing the family planning program?” he questioned.
BRS Working President K T Rama Rao also criticized delimitation based solely on population figures, calling it “certainly unjust.” He pointed out that southern states had successfully implemented population control measures since the 1980s, and reducing parliamentary representation was unfair.
“Today, to say that because your population is lower, your representation in Parliament should be reduced is a travesty of justice,” Rama Rao remarked. He emphasized that representation should be determined by population and a state’s contribution to the national economy. He highlighted that while the southern region constitutes only 19% of India’s population, it contributes 36% to the country’s GDP. He noted that Telangana alone, with just 2.8% of the national population, accounts for 5.1% of the GDP.
The debate over delimitation intensifies as political leaders from southern states push back against what they perceive as an unfair redistribution of parliamentary representation.
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