P Chidambaram
COIMBATORE: Former Union minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday alleged that the central govt’s move to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats by 50% in the name of “delimitation” is a deceptive tactic aimed at systematically reducing the political influence of southern states.Addressing reporters in Coimbatore, the senior Congress leader shared critical views regarding the special session of parliament and the proposed Delimitation Bill.
Speaking on the expansion of Lok Sabha seats, Chidambaram said, “If delimitation were done directly, it would be crystal clear to the people that Tamil Nadu’s seats would drop from 39 to 32. To hide this, they are first increasing the total seats by 50% and then performing delimitation. This is a mere illusion. While it may appear that Tamil Nadu’s parliamentary seats will increase to 46, our proportional strength compared to northern states will drastically decrease.”He expressed concern that while the strength of states like Uttar Pradesh would jump from 80 to nearly 140, the collective voting power of the five southern states would drop from 24.3% to 20.7%. “This is a dangerous move that will further suppress and stifle the voice of south India in parliament,” he warned. Criticizing the decision to convene a special parliament session on April 16, Chidambaram asked, “When 67 MPs from Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are busy with election work, why hold the session now? It is a planned conspiracy to prevent them from attending and voting against the bill. What is the harm in postponing the session to April 29, after the elections in these regions?”Reacting to AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami’s stance on the issue, Chidambaram said, “When asked if this bill would affect Tamil Nadu, EPS said Union home minister Amit Shah had assured him that there would be no impact. Is he a political leader or just a ‘loudspeaker’ for Amit Shah? His reliance on the home minister’s words instead of analyzing the impact on the state is shocking.”He added that former diplomats had said that India’s foreign policy had derailed and the country currently lacked true allies on the global stage.Chidambaram said the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023 with the support of the INDIA bloc and questioned why the govt was delaying its implementation using the census as an excuse.
