CHANDIGARH: Punjab Congress on Monday warned against the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, alleging that such an exercise would put states like Punjab and Tamil Nadu at a disadvantage while benefiting states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The party also criticised the BJP government over the women’s reservation bill and accused it of trying to blame the opposition for its defeat.
Addressing a joint press conference at the Congress Bhawan, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Kuljeet Singh Nagra said the Congress did not need any certificate from the BJP on women’s rights and reservation.
They pointed out that it was 39 years ago, in 1989, that Rajiv Gandhi introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies. As a result, they said, about 40 per cent of members in local bodies across the country are women.
The Congress leaders said it was not the women’s reservation bill that was defeated in Parliament, but a delimitation bill.
According to them, the BJP had tried to bring in delimitation in the guise of the women’s reservation bill, which had already been unanimously passed in Parliament in 2023.
They justified the party’s opposition to the amendment bill, saying its passage would have allowed the government to push through delimitation that would reduce the share of states like Punjab and Tamil Nadu while increasing representation for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Giving details, they said the proportionate share of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan would rise by 1.7 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.
In contrast, the share of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal would decline by 0.3 per cent, 1 per cent, 1 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.
The Congress leaders alleged that the BJP’s intention was to increase representation in states where it is politically strong and reduce it where it is weak.
The party leaders also criticised Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over his foreign visits, claiming they were more like “vacation breaks” than efforts to attract investment.
They alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government had failed to bring real investment to Punjab and said merely signing MoUs did not guarantee actual projects on the ground.