Govt assures fair LS expansion; Opposition demands written guarantee

THe authorities on th attempted to convince the oppositeness that the proposition to growth the Lok Sabha’s strength and fast-track 33% reservation for women would involve a proportional 50% rise in each state’s seats, thereby not hurting southern states apprehensive of an erosion in their relative standing in Parliament.On the first day of the discussion on a constitution amendment bill and two delimitation bills in the Lower House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal told the Opposition that the proportion of each state’s seat-share will not be disturbed, Shah even read out a table to show that southern states will not be disadvantaged if the strength of the Lok Sabha is increased from 543 to 816.Also Read | Lok Sabha seats for all states to be increased by 50%, says law minister; 272 reserved for womenOpposition questions Centre's intent on caste censusBut the Opposition remained unconvinced, pointing out that the government’s assurances were verbal and not mentioned in the text of the bills.They also raised questions about the Centre’s intent on the caste census, the timing of the special sitting – in the middle of the election campaign in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal later this month – and asked why women’s reservation couldn’t be implemented with the current strength of the Lok Sabha.“A completely false narrative is being spun that these three bills will reduce the strength of the southern states in the Parliament. Such fears are unfounded,” Shah said, adding that the House’s strength would go up from 543 to 816 and all states would see their seats rise in the same proportion.“If we consider the entire narrative about the South, currently, 129 MPs from these states sit in the House out of 543 seats, which is approximately 23.76%. In the new House, 195 MPs will represent these states, and their share will be 23.97%,” the minister added. He briefly intervened in the debate on Thursday evening and will furnish a full reply on Friday. PM Modi on ‘no change in ratios’Modi said that the process will not discriminate against anyone. “Whatever delimitation happened in the past under previous governments, whatever ratios have been followed since then, there will be no change in those ratios, and any increase will also be in the same proportion. If the word “guarantee” is needed, I use the word guarantee. If you want the word “promise,” I use the word promise. If there is a good word in Tamil, I am ready to use that too, because when the intent is clear, then we do not need to play with words,” he added.Meghwal called the government’s proposal a simple formula that will ensure no states are deprived. “Seats of all states will be increased by 50%. Total Lok Sabha seats would be 815. 272 seats reserved for women,” he added.But the Opposition refused to take the government at its word. “The Prime Minister can’t be trusted. As long as the caste enumeration doesn’t happen, all sections of the society will not get proper representation. This government wants to move ahead with the 2011 census because it doesn’t have an OBC population count,” Congress MP Priyanka GandhI Vadra said.The 131st Constitution Amendment Bill – which raises the ceiling of seats in the Lok Sabha to 850 and implements 33% reservation for women in time for the 2029 polls—requires a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting to pass in each House.The delimitation bill and the Union Territories bill – the first mandates delimitation on the basis of the latest available census, effectively the 2011 one, and the second implements the changes in UTs – requires a simple majority to pass. There is no mention of a fixed proportion or a freeze in the relative strength of the states in any of the three bills.The Opposition has the numbers to thwart the government’s move in the Lok Sabha but the key lies with large non-Congress parties such as the Samajwadi Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The bills were introduced251-185on Thursday – the Lok Sabha debated the bills till11 pm at night– and are scheduled to be put to vote at 4pm on Friday.Also Read | Parliament’s special session begins today: Delimitation row, Lok Sabha expansion to dominate agendaAmit Shah reads out numbers to assureIn his intervention, Shah read out numbers to make his case that no state will lose out on representation. “Karnataka has 28 seats, which is 5.15% of the 543 seats in the House. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs from Karnataka will increase from 28 to 42, and its share in the Lok Sabha will rise to 5.44%. Karnataka will not suffer any loss at all. Andhra Pradesh has 25 seats, which is 4.60%. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase from 25 to 38, making it 4.65%,” he said.“Telangana has 17 seats, which is 3.13%. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase from 17 to 26, making it 3.18%. Tamil Nadu has 49 seats, which is 7.18%. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase to 59, and its share in the new House of 816 will be 7.23%. Tamil Nadu will also suffer no loss. Kerala has 20 seats, which is 3.68%. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase to 30, and their share in the new House will be 3.67%,” he added.“I want to assure the people of Tamil Nadu that your representation will not decrease, rather it will go up.”He also rejected allegations that the government was abandoning the caste census and modifying the delimitation process to suit its political needs. “The Modi cabinet has decided to conduct a caste census. The ongoing census is being conducted on the basis of caste enumeration. There is no need to spread confusion,” he said.“The delimitation commission law is strictly in accordance with the existing (old) law. There is no change. It will not impact the ongoing elections,” he added.Also Read | Delimitation bill: Does the math favour the Opposition in Lok Sabha?Opposition on ‘disadvantage to southern states'But the Opposition, which disrupted both Modi and Shah’s speeches, argued that no proportional rise was mentioned in the text of the bills circulated. They also said that delimitation based on the 2011 census will put southern states at a disadvantage.“There is a dangerous aspect. They are saying 50% rise in Lok Sabha numbers but the bill doesn’t speak a word about its process. It is surprising that in the entire bill there is not a single word about the process and the method of this major amendment. The representation was sealed on the basis of the 1971 census but this bill would overhaul everything. Despite the hollow assurances of the PM and other ministers, it is certain that the representation of smaller states would be altered. The way they divided (Opposition dominated) seats in Assam and secured their own seats through new demarcations for political benefits, the same thing they would do in the whole country,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted a gazette notification on X that said the original Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which was passed unanimously in 2023, has come into force form April 16. “This is absolutely bizarre. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam passed in September 2023 has come into force today [April 16] while amendments to it are being debated and will be voted upon tomorrow. Completely puzzled,” he posted on X.