The Congress on Sunday said the plan to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha was a “weapon of mass distraction”, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to allay fears of delimitation being used to reduce the influence of south India.
Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: “For example, the difference between UP’s and Kerala’s seats in Lok Sabha is now 60. Mr. Modi’s proposal will increase it to 90. Similarly the difference between UP and Tamil Nadu will increase from 41 to at least 61. Such examples can be multiplied. Mr. Modi is bulldozing a proposal that will work more to the benefit of larger and populous states since their already large numbers will get further magnified.”
He added: “It is not just South India but states like Punjab and Haryana and those in the North East that will also see their relative influence decline.
“The nation is facing a serious economic and foreign policy crisis. All that the PM is bothered about is pushing through an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas without meaningful consultations and widespread public debate. This is nothing but a Weapon of Mass Distraction (WMD).”
The Prime Minister said while addressing a rally in Kerala’s Thiruvalla on Saturday: “False rumours are being spread that seats will be reduced in south Indian states due to population control, but this is completely untrue.”
He added: “States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Telangana and others that have done well in population control must not lose any Lok Sabha seats, even if their population growth is lower.”
The number of Lok Sabha constituencies has remained at 543 since 1973. The figure was derived from the 1971 census.
Two constitutional amendments since then froze the number of seats as calculated based on the 1971 census, thereby ensuring that states that implement family planning are not penalised by a reduction in their parliamentary seats. The second of these two amendments took place in 2001, which extended the freeze on delimitation until the figures of the 2026 census are published.
Opposition parties, especially those from the south, have opposed any proportionate reduction in their share of seats in Parliament, which they see as a punishment for effectively reducing their birthrates, better than their northern counterparts. They spoke out after the announcement of the much-delayed decadal census last year.
Later this month, Parliament is expected to pass amendments to the women’s reservation bill, the contents of which is not known and which will take place when the campaign heats up in Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The Opposition has slammed the timing as a ploy to exert undue influence on the polls.