NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted in the Lok Sabha that the number of seats in the southern states will not be reduced as he sought to counter what he described as a “manufactured narrative” that delimitation and related legislative changes would weaken the region’s political influence.
Speaking during the debate on women’s reservation and delimitation, Shah said: “The biggest narrative being created is that these three bills, the Constitution Amendment Bill, two laws on delimitation, and changes to the constituency election law, will harm the power of the South” He backed his argument with state-wise projections to demonstrate that representation from southern states would increase both in absolute numbers and overall share.
Karnataka has 28 seats now, and 5.15 percent of the 543 seats in the House. After the passage of the bill, the number of Karnataka MPs will increase from 28 to 42, and the percentage in the Lok Sabha will increase to 5.44. Karnataka will not suffer any loss at all.
Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats, which is 4.60 percent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase from 25 to 38, which will be 4.65 per cent. In the case of Telangana which has 17 seats, accounting for 3.13 per cent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase from 17 to 26, which will be 3.18 percent. Tamil Nadu has 49 seats, which is 7.18 per cent, After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will be 59, and their percentage in the new House of 816 will be 7.23 per cent. Tamil Nadu will also suffer no loss. The southern-most state of Keralam now has 20 seats, which is 3.68 per cent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will be 30 and their percentage in the new House will be 3.67 per cent.
“If we listen to the entire narrative created for the South, then out of the 543 seats created by you, 129 MPs currently sit in this House, which is approximately 23.76%. In the new House, 195 MPs will be sitting here, and their share will be 23.97%.”
The remarks come amid concerns raised by opposition parties that population-based delimitation could reduce the relative representation of southern states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in Parliament. Shah also clarified the concerns over the caste census raised by some opposition members and said: “Modi Cabinet has decided to conduct a caste census. The ongoing census is being conducted on the basis of caste enumeration. There is no need to spread confusion.”
Reiterating the government’s position, he further said, “The Modi cabinet has decided to conduct a caste census. The current census is being conducted based on the caste census. Misinformation should not be spread. The Delimitation Commission's law is strictly in accordance with the old law. No changes have been made to it. This will have no impact on the ongoing elections...”
On the legal framework governing delimitation, Shah emphasised continuity with existing provisions. “The Delimitation Commission law is strictly in accordance with the existing (old) law. There is no change. It will not impact the ongoing elections.”
Responding to criticism from opposition leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi, Shah said: “There was mention of the Delimitation Commission, saying that you will put your people in the Delimitation Commission and they will do this and that. I want to tell Priyanka Gandhi that we have not made any changes to the Delimitation Commission. We have replicated your Delimitation Commission Act. If you have tampered with it, I can say that we will not do so.”