Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday, April 13, proposed a hybrid model for the upcoming delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, suggesting that 50 per cent of the increase be allocated on a pro-rata basis and the remaining 50 per cent based on each state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
He warned that increasing Lok Sabha seats based only on population would lead to inequalities between the southern and northern states, which he predicted would lead to a major disaster in the long term.
Addressing the media at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat in Hyderabad, Revanth Reddy explained that the Centre was proposing to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent of the total 543 seats at present. This means around 272 new seats would be added.
The Chief Minister said that if the exercise is done on a pro-rata basis, the southern states, which currently have 130 seats, will get 195 seats, and the northern states, which have 411 seats, will grow to 621 seats, giving an undue advantage of 280 seats.
Revanth Reddy’s hybrid model explained
Through his hybrid model, Revanth Reddy suggested taking the data of 10 or 25 years of economic index to arrive at the number of seats to states based on their GSDP contributions – the pro-rata 50 per cent increase in seats.
To support his argument, he pointed out the Supreme Court’s orders that had put a cap of 50 per cent on giving reservations in education, jobs and local bodies, leaving the rest for merit.
“When 50 per cent reservation is given on merit, why can’t it be replicated in increasing Lok Sabha seats to reward states based on their contribution to the nation’s economy,” he asked.
“We (states) are tired of paying taxes and then saying salaam in Delhi,” he asserted.
The CM also suggested giving the southern states an increased number of Lok Sabha seats as a special case, like in the Northeastern states and Union Territories, where the number of seats has not been arrived at based on their population.
He strongly objected to what he called the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratis Alliance’s (NDA) attempt to club women’s reservation, delimitation and increase of Lok Sabha seats, and to push through the exercise in haste without building a consensus.
‘Centre must implement women’s reservation immediately’
He said the Congress’ stand has been clear about 33 per cent reservation for women in the legislature, but it should be done immediately without waiting for the national census to be completed, so that the states heading for elections before that could implement reservation for women in their respective Legislative Assemblies.
He also noted that the Congress was not only supporting women’s reservation, but also reservation for the women belonging to the Backward Classes (BC) as a separate quota within the 33 per cent reservation.
Revanth Reddy suggested that the Centre first form an expert committee to study various options on delimitation and increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats by consulting the state governments and the civil society, after which the draft bill could be discussed in Parliament with proper guidelines and terms of reference.
As the national population census would be completed by March 31, 2027, he said the discussion on delimitation and increasing the number of seats could be held during that Union Budget Session, after which the exercise could be completed within a year comfortably so that the Lok Sabha elections could be held in 2029 as per the increased seats.
Revanth Reddy counters Bandi Sanjay, Kishan Reddy
On Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay and Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy’s comments on the Congress that the Grand Old Party has always been against women’s reservation, Revanth Reddy reminded that it was the his party that had given the women their right to vote for the first time in the country, and had implemented women’s reservation in the local bodies as well.
“BJP was founded on April 6, 1980. Since then, the party had 15 presidents. Was there even once that a woman was made the party president, or even the party’s national general secretary (organisation),” Revanth Reddy sought to know.
On the two Union ministers supporting the Centre’s delimitation process, the CM told Bandi Sanjay and Kishan Reddy that even they will lose their ministries if Telangana loses its numbers in the Lok Sabha.
“They may be thinking that they will do their terms and leave the headache for future generations. But if the exercise is done now, they won’t be fit for even being servants of their bosses in Delhi,” he quipped.
Revanth Reddy said that the Chief Ministers of all the southern states, as well as in Punjab, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats and delimitation after discussing the issue last year in Chennai.
He appealed to the PM to call an all-party meeting to discuss the delimitation exercise.
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