HYDERABAD: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Wednesday said that the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha segments would render injustice to southern states. He said that Union government’s decision to redraw constituencies based on population would become a curse not only for Telangana but also for other southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Rama Rao endorsed the apprehensions voiced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on the issue.
“Is the Union government planning to punish southern states that have successfully implemented population control as a mission for the nation’s welfare?” he asked.
The BRS leader said that redrawing constituencies solely based on population, without considering the efforts of southern states in population control, was against the spirit of democracy and federalism.
He said that the contributions of southern states in nation-building cannot be ignored.
“In 1951, southern states accounted for 26.2% of India’s population, which has declined to 19.8% by 2022. Meanwhile, the population of northern states like UP, Bihar, MP and Rajasthan increased from 39.1% to 43.2%. If Lok Sabha seats are allocated based on the latest census, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar together will have 222 seats, while the five southern states — Telangana, AP, TN, Karnataka and Kerala — will collectively get only 165 seats,” he felt.
“Southern states have outperformed northern states in key sectors like economic growth, human development indices and population control. Penalising performing states and rewarding laggards is not in the best interest of the nation,” Rama Rao said.
He suggested that constituency delimitation should be based on economic contribution rather than population. “Telangana, despite contributing only 2.8% to India’s population, accounts for over 5.2% of the country’s GDP. Similarly, southern states make immense contributions to the nation’s economy. This factor must be considered in the delimitation process,” he urged the Centre.
“If southern states face injustice under the guise of constituency delimitation, we will not sit silently and watch,” he warned the Union government.