The proposed delimitation exercise has sparked a political controversy, with southern states expressing concerns that it could reduce their representation in the Lok Sabha.
The Narendra Modi government is set to present a Constitution amendment bill in the lower house on Thursday, as part of its effort to fast-track the implementation of the Women’s Reservation Law of 2023.
The bill proposes to increase the total number of Lok Sabha seats to 850, with 815 seats allocated to the states and the remaining 35 for the Union Territories. Currently, the Lok Sabha has 543 seats.
However, government sources have dismissed the concerns raised by the southern states. According to a report by News18, the share of all states in the Lok Sabha will rise uniformly by 50 per cent.
“There will be no disadvantage to southern states. The same proportion that exists today will be maintained. The total number will increase by 50% to 850, and the number of seats for each state will also rise by 50 per cent,” sources told the network.
Opposition parties have strongly objected to the proposed delimitation process, questioning the fairness of the redistribution of parliamentary seats.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has warned of a massive agitation if the state's interests are undermined or if southern states are disproportionately affected. On Tuesday, his Telangana counterpart, A. Revanth Reddy, raised similar concerns.
During an emergency meeting of DMK MPs on Wednesday, Stalin called the delimitation amendment in Parliament on Thursday a "massive historic injustice" against Tamil Nadu and other southern states. He accused the BJP of "playing with fire" and urged all political parties to unite to safeguard democracy.
Earlier, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the government’s bills, circulated for the special session of Parliament, contradicted the assurances given by Prime Minister Modi.
“What happened to the uniform, proportionate increase of strength in the Lok Sabha for all states that was promised by the PM and some of his colleagues? That has not happened,” Ramesh said.
The special session of Parliament is scheduled to take place from April 16 to 18.
