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Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has taken a more plactory stand in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the delimitation exercise.
Jagan Reddy expressed gratitude to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his assurance that the exercise will be undertaken by ensuring proportionate increase of seats for all states "I draw your attention to the potential for significant erosion of Southern State's participation in National policy making and legislative process if the delimitation process is conducted on the basis of the States' population as it stands today. While I am thankful for the Hon'ble Union Home Minister's assurance that delimitation exercise will be undertaken mindful of need to ensure proportionate increase of seats for all States, I wish to point out to a Constitutional impediment to such a relaxation," the letter reads. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy also urged PM Modi to ensure that the upcoming delimitation exercise be conducted in a manner that ensures no state experiences a reduction in its representation in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. In the letter, Reddy sought an amendment to Article 81(2)(a) of the Constitution of India to ensure a proportionate increase in seats for all states. The letter reads, "If it is imperative that ratio be maintained as warranted by the Constitutional provision, then it would come in the way of fulfilment of the Hon'ble Union Home Minister's assurance. I therefore emphasize the need to amend the Constitution to give effect to such proportionate increase in seats for each State. This would ensure that no State would have to encounter any reduction in its representation in the House of the People, in terms of the share of the seats allocated to that State in the total seats. I humbly seek your support in this regard. Given the gravity of the issue that has the potential to disrupt the social and political harmony in the Country, your leadership and guidance at this crucial juncture is most vital. Sir, an assurance from your end, would contribute greatly to allaying the fears of several States." Meanwhile in Chennai, the Joint Action Committee on delimitation took a more strident stand and unanimously adopted a resolution which asserted that "any delimitation exercise carried out by the Centre should be done "transparently" and after discussion and deliberation with all stakeholders. "Any delimitation exercise carried out by the Union Government to improve the content and character of democracy should be carried out transparently, enabling political parties of all the States, State Governments and other stakeholders to deliberate, discuss and contribute in it." the resolution passed by JAC read. "Given the fact that the legislative intent behind the 42nd, 84th and 87th Constitutional amendments was to protect/incentivise States which have implemented population control measures effectively and the goal of national population stabilisation has not yet been achieved, the freeze on Parliamentary constituencies based on 1971 Census Population, should be extended by another 25 years," it added. The MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government has locked horns with the Central government over the three-language formula proposed in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the delimitation exercise. (ANI)
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