Delimitation: Southern states demand another 25-year freeze on Lok Sabha seats

The states which have effectively implemented the population control programme and consequently whose population share has come down, should not be penalised and the Centre must enact necessary constitutional amendments for this purpose.

Chennai: Speaking in one voice, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Chief Ministers of Southern states on delimitation on Saturday urged the Union Government to extend the freeze on the number and state-wise distribution of Lok Sabha seats for another 25 years beyond 2026 and engage with all stakeholders before carrying out the exercise. 

Hosted by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and attended by his counterparts Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana), and Bhagwant Mann (Punjab) besides Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the meeting also asserted that the states which contributed to India’s growth by effectively controlling population shouldn’t be penalized.

The notable absentees were representatives from Trinamool Congress, and YSRCP, which had promised to send one of its MPs to the event. 

At the meeting that lasted two hours, CMs and leaders from 14 political parties, including former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who spoke via video conferencing, stressed that a delimitation solely on the basis of population will make them “second-class citizens” in their own country. 

“Fighting for our rights doesn’t mean we are against others. Southern states will see their representation reduce because of delimitation and we are fighting for our cause,” DMK floor leader in Lok Sabha Kanimozhi told a media briefing when asked whether the meeting would cause a rift among the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

The meeting was a show of strength against the BJP with almost all Chief Ministers accusing the Union Government of not being “transparent” and “vocal” about how it intends to carry out the delimitation exercise as the 25-year-freeze on the seats ends in 2026. Stalin took up the critical issue over which the BJP remains silent just a year before Tamil Nadu goes to polls which he plans to convert as a battle between the state and Centre.

Reddy proposed to host the next meeting in Hyderabad to build on the foundation laid during the initial discussion on Saturday, but no decision was taken on the date. 

The resolution passed at the meeting urged that any delimitation exercise to improve the “content and character of democracy” should be carried out transparently with space for political parties, state governments and other stakeholders to deliberate, discuss and contribute to it.

It also noted that the 42^nd, 84^th and 87^th Constitutional Amendments that deal with delimitation were enacted to protect and incentivise states that have implemented population control measures effectively. “…the goal of national population stabilisation has not yet been achieved, the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on 1971 Census Population, should be extended by another 25 years,” the resolution added. 

Reddy, Vijayan, Shivakumar stressed that South Indian states together contribute to over 36 per cent of India’s GDP despite constituting just 19 per cent of the population and they should not be punished for merely achieving the national ambition of population control. 

The leaders also said any increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats would only result in concentration of power in a few north Indian states that would decide the country’s future.

Stalin set the tone for the meeting by tearing into the BJP as a party that always deprived states and state rights and contended that delimitation was not just about numbers, but about power, rights, the interests of the future of the states. 

“They want to implement their ulterior motives in the delimitation plan. No state should allow this. Realising this threat, Tamil Nadu is working with unprecedented unity…If we allow the number of constituencies to be reduced or our representation to be reduced, we risk becoming disempowered citizens in our own country,” he added. 

Stalin said with the reduction in representation states will have to struggle even to get the funds they rightfully deserve, laws will be enacted without our consent, and decisions that affect the people will be made by those who do not know their needs. 

“Our culture, identity, and progress will be under great threat. The social justice that we have cherished and protected for ages will be compromised. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be affected in particular,” he added.

The meeting also decided that a Core Committee consisting of Members of Parliament from the represented States will coordinate the parliamentary strategies to counter any attempts by the Union Government to undertake any delimitation exercise contrary to the principles mentioned above.

The committee will also submit a Joint Representation on delimitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ongoing Parliamentary session, while the meeting decided that efforts will be initiated to bring about appropriate Legislative Assembly resolutions in their respective States on the issue and communicate the same to the Union Government.

The Kerala Chief Minister said states that faithfully implemented the population policy deserve special consideration but on the contrary they are being punished for fulfilling their duty to the nation. 

“We will face an unprecedented situation in which both our rightful share of funds and outer political voice to demand them diminishes simultaneously,” Vijayan said.

Reddy said anything less for Southern states in the delimitation exercise will reduce the region’s role to that of a “passive audience” in the political theatre of India with a handful of north Indian states alone deciding Prime Ministers. 

"We are one country, we respect it. But we cannot accept this proposed delimitation because it will politically limit us. It will punish us for being performers. We have to stop BJP from implementing any unfair delimitation," he said. 

Stalin has termed delimitation as a “Damocles Sword” hanging over the heads of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Telangana, which together account for 129 Lok Sabha seats. 

The Southern states want the “present ratio” of Parliament and Assembly constituencies in states which were fixed based on the 1971 Census to continue till all states follow population control measures rigorously. 

The “penalized” feeling isn’t related to delimitation alone but extends to the devolution of Central taxes, which has been on the downslide in successive Finance Commissions. 

With just 130 seats across the five states and Puducherry, the South already feels it isn’t able to play a role in the government formation even if it votes en bloc, and these states say it is natural for them to feel threatened over any reduction from the current representation that is already considered low. 

Even if the number of Parliament seats is increased, the South is likely to get a raw deal as the number of seats for Northern states will witness an exponential increase, while their numbers will go up only marginally.