New Delhi: The proportion of Lok Sabha seats in southern states will increase from 23.76 per cent to 23.87 per cent after the increase in the size of Lok Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Thursday, seeking to allay the apprehensions of southern states that they will suffer in terms of representation. In terms of numbers, Shah said, Lok Sabha seats in southern states will increase from 129 to 195.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the Union Home Minister also countered the Opposition’s allegation that the delimitation exercise was being done to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“Let me clearly state that the Delimitation Commission’s report will come into effect only when it is accepted by Parliament and receives the President’s approval. Therefore, there is no question of it being implemented before 2029. Even the elections till 2029 will be conducted under the existing system and existing constituencies. So there is no need for Akhilesh ji (Yadav) to be worried,” Amit Shah added.
“Yes, I am talking about 2027. Though he (Akhilesh) will not win, there is no need to be scared,” he added.
Also read: ‘Naari ko naara banana chahti hai BJP’: Akhilesh tears into Modi govt over women’s quota law in LS
‘Overall representation of south states will go up 24%’
“A narrative is being created and confusion is being spread that these three Bills, the Constitutional Amendment Bill and the two related laws on delimitation and changes in election procedures, will reduce the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha and cause them significant loss… The Bill before the House is now the property of the House. Based on its practical interpretation, I would like to clarify a few points,” said Shah.
Shah said, in Karnataka, out of the current strength of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, there are 28 seats, which is about 5.15 per cent of the total representation. After the passage of this bill and the Constitutional Amendment, Karnataka’s seats will increase from 28 to 42.
“In a House of 816 members, its share will be around 5.14 per cent. So, there will be no real loss to Karnataka.”
On Andhra Pradesh, Shah said it currently has 25 seats, with a representation of 4.60 per cent in the Lok Sabha. “With an increase of around 50 per cent, its seats will rise to 38, and its share will increase from 4.60 per cent to about 4.65 per cent.”
“In Telangana, there are 17 seats, with a 3.13 per cent share in the current House of 543 members. After an increase of around 50 per cent, the number of seats will go up to 26, and its share will rise to about 3.18 per cent. As for Tamil Nadu, where many people have been expressing concerns, and so many of them have come sporting black clothes, I want to assure the people of the state that your representation will not decrease, it will increase.”
In Tamil Nadu there are 39 seats and it will go up to 59 seats and its percentage increase will be from 7.18 per cent to 7.23 per cent. In Kerala the current seats stand at 20 and will go up to 30, he said.
Shah added that despite the “narrative” attempted to be built by the Opposition, the overall representation of southern states will go up from 23.76 per cent to 24 per cent.
Responding to questions raised by a number of opposition leaders that the numbers (being provided by Shah now) are not mentioned in the Bill, Shah said: “As a minister who is piloting this Bill, as the Home Minister of the country I am providing all these details”.
The home minister said, questions have also been raised about the figure of 850 seats. “The figure of 850 is derived in the following way: Hypothetically, if there are 100 seats and 33 per cent reservation is to be given to women, then increasing the total seats by 50 per cent makes it 150.”
Amit Shah also clarified that since there have been no changes to the Delimitation Commission Act, the question of any form of manipulation does not arise, as alleged by Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi.
“I would like to say to Hon’ble Member Priyanka-ji that we have not made any changes to the Delimitation Commission Act. Not even a comma or full stop has been altered; we have retained the existing Delimitation Commission Act in its entirety. If you are saying that manipulation happened earlier, and you are now saying that it could happen again, then I can only say this: If the Act was misused in the past, we will not do so.”
Amit Shah also said that a caste census will be conducted alongside the upcoming population enumeration.
Reacting to claims by the Opposition that women’s reservation would harm democracy in the future Shah said: “No one has the power to end democracy in the country. Those who tried during the Emergency were rejected by the people; democracy remained unharmed.”
(Edited by Viny Mishra)