Jairam Ramesh (File photo)
NEW DELHI: Congress on Wednesday opposed the bill aiming to increase the size of the Lok Sabha by 50 per cent, calling it a move that would disadvantage states in the South, Northeast and West.The party’s general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh in a post on X highlighted concerns over the proposal and its potential impact on state representation.”The Modi government is proposing to bulldoze a Bill to increase the size of the Lok Sabha by 50%. The number of seats allocated to each state is also proposed to be increased by 50%. The argument that a 50% increase in seats across-the-board is equitable is deceptive. Proportions may not change for the present but there are deeper implications that cannot be wished away,” he wrote.He also provided examples to illustrate the disparity in gains between northern and southern states.”Any increase in the gap in the existing strengths of different states in the Lok Sabha will place South Indian states at a disadvantage. For instance, currently Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats and Tamil Nadu has 39. With the proposed Bill, UP’s strength will zoom to 120 while Tamil Nadu will crawl up to at best 59. Similarly, Kerala will increase from 20 Lok Sabha seats to 30 seats, while Bihar will move from 40 to 60 seats. Overall, the southern states will gain 66 seats while the northern states will gain 200 seats,” he wrote. The Congress leader also raised concerns about the unilateral nature of the proposal, claiming that several states could be disadvantaged if the bill passes.”Mr Modi is unilaterally preparing a law which will disadvantage smaller states in the South, Northeast, and West. The Chief Minister of Telangana has already raised an alarm. Others may very well follow as this proposal becomes officially public.”The opposition party argued that the proposed increase in Lok Sabha seats, along with potential amendments to the women’s reservation law, could be used as a ‘weapon of mass diversion’ to shift attention from the government’s perceived failures in foreign policy and the energy crisis. The government may introduce two bills in the current session of Parliament to implement reservation for women in one-third of seats in the next Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls to be held afterward.According to the bill, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha will rise by 50 per cent to 816 from the existing 543, with the 273-seat increase set aside for women.The move is expected to reshape political dynamics while maintaining the position of incumbent parliamentarians, who are overwhelmingly male. The majority mark will, accordingly, move to 409.
