Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has strongly opposed the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies based on population. He warned that such a move would weaken the political influence of South India.
Speaking at a meeting on delimitation in Chennai, which was convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, Reddy stated that if the process is done based on population, “the North will make us secondary citizens.”
Reddy emphasized that states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan would gain more power, making it unfair for the rest of the country. He firmly stated that such a change is unacceptable.
To oppose this move, Reddy announced that the Telangana government would soon pass a resolution in the State Assembly. He urged other states to do the same. He also proposed holding the next meeting of southern states and Punjab in Hyderabad and organizing a public meeting with the leaders present at Saturday’s discussion.
Reddy accused the BJP-led central government of following a “demographic penalty” policy. He argued that while Telangana and other states support national unity, population-based delimitation would politically weaken them. He suggested extending the freeze on Lok Sabha seats for another 25 years while allowing changes within states.
He pointed out that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had carried out delimitation without increasing the number of seats to maintain a balance among states. Similarly, in 2001, the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee had done the same. Reddy urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to adopt a similar approach.
Rejecting the Pro Rata formula for delimitation, Reddy warned that it would shift the power balance among states. He suggested that each state should be considered a unit for delimitation, with constituencies adjusted based on the latest census.
Additionally, he called for an increase in the number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). He also advocated for 33 percent reservation for women in every state.
