BHUBANESWAR: BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday voiced concerns over population being made the sole criteria for delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, and called upon the Union government to clear all doubts on the exercise through thorough discussions with all parties.
Even as he had deputed two senior party leaders Sanjay Das Burma and Amar Patnaik to attend the joint action committee (JAC) meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in Chennai, Naveen chose to take part in it virtually from Bhubaneswar.
Addressing the JAC, Naveen said the meeting was important to uphold democracy, particularly in context of representation and rights of people living in states that have done very well in controlling and stabilising the population. He asserted that his party will take all possible measures to protect the interests of the people of Odisha.
Emphasising that population control is an important national agenda that directly contributes to the country’s development, the former chief minister said states also took their own initiatives and successfully implemented the national agenda.
BJD will do everything to protect the interests of Odisha: Naveen
“States of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Punjab and Odisha have been very successful in population control. Had these states not achieved what they did in stabilising population, India would have had a population explosion today derailing our developmental progress. It will be unfair to these states if delimitation is based only on population figures,” Patnaik said.
He said states like Odisha who have made significant strides in population control after years of persistent efforts should not be penalised for performing well on a national priority. “If projected population figures of 2026 are taken, we will end up losing seats in the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly. Biju Janata Dal will do everything to protect the interests of the people of Odisha,” he said.
“I suggest the Union government take up a detailed discussion with all the parties so as to remove any doubts on this very important issue that has far reaching implications for our democracy,” Patnaik said and thanked Stalin for organising the meeting.