BRS Working President KT Rama Rao has criticized the central government’s plan to reduce the number of parliamentary seats for states that have successfully implemented family planning. He called this move a “gross injustice” to South India.
On Thursday, KTR met with a delegation from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) at the Telangana Bhavan. The DMK team was led by Tamil Nadu Minister KN Nehru and Rajya Sabha MP NR Elango. They invited the BRS to attend an all-party meeting in Chennai on March 22. This meeting, chaired by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, will discuss the issue of delimitation and its impact on South Indian states.
KTR strongly opposed the Centre’s approach to delimitation, which is based on population figures from the latest census. He argued that this would unfairly reduce the representation of states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. These states have followed the central government’s family planning policies for many years, yet they are now being penalized for it.
He warned that deciding parliamentary seats only on population numbers would weaken the political influence of South Indian states in the Lok Sabha. “This is not just a Telangana issue; it’s a South India issue. If we don’t stand united now, our representation in national decision-making will be unfairly reduced,” he said.
KTR also confirmed that BRS President K Chandrashekar Rao had instructed the party to take part in the Chennai meeting. “We will attend the March 22 meeting and make sure that Telangana’s concerns are strongly represented,” he assured.
The DMK delegation emphasized the importance of this issue. Minister KN Nehru said that CM Stalin has been consistently speaking out against the injustice of delimitation. MP NR Elango added that the Chennai meeting aims to bring stakeholders together to create a united action plan against the delimitation changes.
The delegation expressed their appreciation for BRS’s support. “We are grateful to BRS for confirming their participation in this crucial meeting. Their support strengthens our collective resolve,” they said.
