New Delhi:
Union home minister Amit Shah, speaking during the debate in parliament on the women’s reservation bill, said the southern states are spinning a false narrative on delimitation and presented data, which, he said, proves that even the south will gain after delimitation. The Opposition is standing firmly against the Constitution amendment bills tabled today, clarifying that while they are not against reservation for women, the government’s move to club delimitation with quota is an opportunistic plan to “gerrymander” Lok Sabha seats to its advantage for the 2029 elections.
The Opposition’s biggest grouse is that a population-based delimitation using the 2011 census data will push southern states to the fringes of parliament, leaving the Hindi heartland in the driver’s seat. This, they have contended, goes against the principles of federalism, where every state should be given equal importance and representation in parliament. The Opposition has contended that they will remove their roadblock if the women’s bill is delinked from delimitation.
The government has said the planned 50 per cent increase in seats will give more seats to every state in south India. Giving examples today, Shah said Tamil Nadu will get 20 more seats, Kerala 10, Telangana 9 and Andhra Pradesh 13 seats. Maharashtra, which after Uttar Pradesh, has the second highest number of MPs in the Lok Sabha, will gain 24 more seats.
The overall outlook:
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