Telangana rejects delimitation based on population

Hyderabad: The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution asserting that population should not be the sole criterion for the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who moved the resolution, warned that if delimitation is carried out solely based on population, the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha could drop from 24% to 19%. He alleged that the ruling NDA at the Centre is attempting to diminish the relevance of southern states in national politics by reducing their Parliamentary representation.

Revanth Reddy called upon all political parties in Telangana to unite in opposition to this move, emphasising the need to safeguard the state’s interests. He also urged the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka to attend a meeting of political parties and public organizations in Hyderabad to discuss the issue of delimitation.

The Chief Minister pointed out that while some Union Ministers claim that the Centre has not initiated the delimitation process, this is only partially true. He noted that although the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, had proposed an increase in Parliamentary constituencies for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the Centre deferred the process until after the 2026 Census. However, he highlighted that the Centre had already conducted population-based delimitation in Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim.

Revanth Reddy also accused the Central government of financial discrimination against Telangana and other southern states, arguing that they do not receive funds proportional to the taxes they contribute, while states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh receive more.

The resolution emphasized that states that have successfully implemented population control policies should not be penalized by losing parliamentary representation. It further argued that the objectives of the 42nd, 84th, and 87th Constitutional Amendments, which aimed at stabilizing the national population, have not yet been fully realized. The resolution proposed maintaining the current freeze on the number of parliamentary seats while redrawing constituency boundaries within states. It also called for increasing representation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and women based on the latest population survey.

Additionally, the resolution sought an increase in the number of seats in the Telangana Legislative Assembly from 119 to 153, in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and the latest Census. It urged the Centre to introduce the necessary constitutional amendments to facilitate this change.