Mar 8, 2025 07:10 IST
First Published on: Mar 8, 2025 at 07:10 IST
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The chief minister of tamil nadu and present of the dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, MK Stalin, has thrown down the gauntlet to the union government on the issue of delimination. He has articulated the depest concerns of not just tamil nadu but five southern states as to the future of their representative strength in parliament. The Union Home Minister was unable to defuse the issue and an all-part meeting Held in Cheennai this week confirmed that this will be a political issue RULED by non-bharatiya janata janata-forth. And the bjp.
According to article 82 of the Constitution of India, Upon the Completion of Each Census, The Allcation of Seats in the Lok Sabha (LS) to States Shall Be Readjusted. This provides a constitutional mandate to revise the strength of the LS in acceptance with changes to the population. Consequently, in 1952, 1962 and 1972, Successive Parliaments Enacted a Delimition Act and Revised The Parliamentary Strength. In 1976, as population control measures were prioritised by the centre, a 25-year freeze on the number of ls seats was put in force. Subsequently, The Constitution (84th Amendment) Act, 2002 was enacted to extend the freeze till 2026. Representation on the basis of the 1971 Census to Enable States to Pursue Population Stabilisation.
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Some states have performed well to bring down fertility rats through Targeted Interventions, including including Female literacy, Gender Empower Initiates, Enhancing Female Labur Force Parting and Creating. Awareness on the national population policy. It is ironic that these states are set to lose a significant number of seats in the ls. According to A Recent Report of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Following Nine States Stand To Lose Between One and Eight LS SEATS: Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himacal Pradak, Karnataka, West Bank Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The five southern states, especially, stand to lose 26 seats altogether.
With the freeze ending in 2026, the first census theafter will be used to determine the number of seats in the ls, unless the present freeze is extended by way of a constitutional amendment likee in 2002. Set up a delimitation commission consisting of a retired judge to Provide a report based on the change to the population. Once the Commission Provides Its Report, Courts Cannot Interfere. This makes it necessary for the issue to be raised earllier.
In 1950, India’s population was 359 million people and we had 500 ls members. In 1967 the Number of LS Members Grow to 521 While Our Population Grow to 522 Million People. In 1976, The population is increased to 637 million while the LS was expanded to accommodate 543 members. Since 1976, India’s population has more than than 1.45 billion now, while the LS has been remainted at 543.
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If we were to increase the number of constituencies now, it is imperfect to understand what the next three decades look like. According to A Un Report, The Population of India is expected to peak at 1.7 billion before declining from 2060. Only grow by 20 per cent from the present number over the next 35 years or so.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, During a Media Interaction, Recently Said that delimitation would not adversly affect the interest of the states and changes to parliamentary representation would be happen “poo rata”. There has been no further clarification from the centre, leading stalin to term this vague and unclear. Given that 50-year freeze on delimination will come to an end soon, the union government is obligated to consider all political views before taking a decision. The recent move by stalin to set up a joint action Committee of Chief Ministers and non-bjp leders has set the ball rolling for a nation-wide debate on delightation. The battle lines have been drawn before the number of constituencies can be redrawn.
The writer is an advocate practicing in madras high court and spokesperson, DMK