Delimitation based on population will make South Indians secondary citizens: CM Revanth Reddy

Chennai: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said that political parties and leaders in the south must reject any delimitation based on population, claiming that if the NDA government at the center did so, South India would lose its political voice.

"North will make us secondary citizens" if the delimitation procedure is conducted according to the population. If the population-based delimitation procedure is carried out. We will not accept population-based delimitation since it will allow states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh to control the rest of the nation. We cannot tolerate it at all costs,” Revanth Reddy said at the meeting on the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called in Chennai.

Revanth accuses BJP of enforcing a 'demographic penalty' strategy

Revanth Reddy also accused the BJP of enforcing a 'demographic penalty' strategy. Though Telangana and other states appreciate the country's unity, he stated that population delimitation cannot be supported because it will "politically limit us". He advocated for state-level delimitation rather than increasing Lok Sabha seats. "Delimitation was implemented without increasing seats by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi because it would have led to an imbalance of political power between states," he said.

Elaborating further, the Telangana chief minister said that in 2001, the NDA government led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee carried out state delimitation without raising seats, and PM Narendra Modi must do the same. He also stated that the Pro Rata formula would not be suitable for delimitation. "The pro rata formula will harm us as well. Pro rata has the drawback of altering the power differential. A majority of one seat decides the central government. A central government has fallen in the past due to a single vote. Therefore, the pro rata formula will also harm our political standing," he stated.

Revanth Reddy proposed several delimitation measures, including not increasing Lok Sabha seats for another 25 years, delimitation as a state, changing the boundaries of LS seats within the state based on the most recent census, increasing SC and ST seats in states, and providing 33% women reservations in all states. He asserted that it was time for the Center to acknowledge and compensate Punjab and the South for their "contribution to nation building for the last 50 years" and to halt the "discrimination policy" against them.

Political demand in the south is to enhance this to 33% of Lok Sabha seats after delimitation

The Telangana chief minister noted that the South currently holds 130 of the 543 seats, or a 24 percent political share. The political demand in the south is to enhance this to 33% of Lok Sabha seats after delimitation, he said, and urged all southern states and Punjab to put aside their differences and fight together for this cause. He emphasized that his government would soon pass a resolution on the delimitation issue in the Telangana Assembly, and urged those in attendance to do the same in their respective state assemblies. He proposed holding the next meeting of the southern states and Punjab in Hyderabad.

"We will debate how to move the fight ahead. I'll organize a public meeting of all leaders. Please join us there to continue the battle. The Telangana Chief Minister argued that the southern states contribute more to the national budget but receive lower allocations. Tamil Nadu receives 26 paise for every rupee of tax paid, whereas Telangana receives 42 paise for every rupee of tax paid,” Revanth Reddy said, and added that when Bihar pays Rs 1 tax, it gets Rs. 6.06, Uttar Pradesh Rs 2.03. Madhya Pradesh gets Rs. 1.73.

BJP has become an extra-constitutional force: TPCC chief

TPCC president B Mahesh Goud accompanied Revanth Reddy during his visit to Chennai. "If the census is delimited by Parliament, it will be a grave injustice to the southern states. To carry out delimitation, a comprehensive scientific committee should be formed and a study should be conducted to ensure that injustice is not done to the southern states," Mahesh Kumar Goud said.

The TPCC chief further said in 1976, the southern states strictly implemented the Family Planning Act. "As a result, the population here decreased. We are the ones who lost out. The BJP has become an extra-constitutional force. It imposes its own agenda on the people by destroying constitutional institutions. Telangana is a new state in the country. With the grace of Sonia Gandhi, the 60-year-old dream of Telangana has come true. The southern states are also the states that pay the highest percentage of taxes to the country and receive the least amount of benefits from the center. If we carry out delimitation with this kind of census, we will suffer more losses," he said.

Mahesh Kumar Goud said that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced in the meeting that a huge public meeting will be held in Hyderabad in April..