BENGALURU: With BJP eyeing more seats in southern states in the Lok Sabha polls, Congress in Karnataka has adopted the Tamil Nadu DMK government’s strategy and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reply on delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies.
On the eve of the PM’s rally in Mysuru and Mangaluru on Sunday, Congress demanded that Modi promise that LS seats will not get reduced in southern states, including Karnataka, during the delimitation exercise in 2026.
Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Saturday said the Tamil Nadu government has passed a resolution with the assent of all political parties stating that delimitation should happen on the basis of 1971 census to ensure proportionate representation to the state in the Lok Sabha. “There are 129 LS seats in South India, which will come down to 103 if delimitation happens. The states will be deprived of their rights and representation. Modi should answer this. Though all parties have opposed this, Modi has kept quiet. It is a conspiracy to snatch away our representation and our voice,” he said.
He pointed out that then prime minister Indira Gandhi had got the Constitution amended for the delimitation to happen on the basis of the 1971 census and BJP PM Atal Behari Vajpayee too followed it.
“The Modi government hatched a plot to postpone the census which should have happened in 2021 to 2025 to let the amendment expire. It is a conspiracy to go with the delimitation in 2026 to do injustice to southern states. The states have to pay the price for controlling their population,” he said.
He drew a parallel to BJP’s slogan this time of crossing the 400-seat mark to the saffron party’s ‘India Shining’ campaign in 2004, which saw Congress-led UPA coming to power.
“In 2004, the silent working class majority, farmers and the poor voted BJP out and brought UPA to power. The unspoken people of India can bring down the government as they have given ten years to BJP. People who are the true custodians of democracy, as Nehru said, are not in anybody’s pocket,” he observed.
On the state government moving the SC seeking its direction to the Centre to release NDRF funds for drought relief, he said the court admitted the case and the next date of hearing is on April 23.
“The attorney general representing the Centre requested the SC with folded hands not to issue a notice and took time. If our memorandum to the Centre had any flaws, he would have raised objections,” he said.