Daijiworld Media Network - Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 15: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged the Union government to ensure that the proposed delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies is carried out through consensus, without reducing any state’s proportional representation.

In a statement issued on Friday, Vijayan emphasized that states that have successfully implemented population control measures should not be penalized. "It is unfair to reduce the parliamentary representation of states that adhered to population control policies introduced by the Union government after independence. This would, in effect, reward states that failed in these measures," he said.

He highlighted that delimitation had been conducted in 1952, 1963, and 1973, but was frozen in 1976 through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment to promote population control. This freeze was further extended until after the 2031 Census through the 84th Constitutional Amendment. "The existing disparities in population among states still persist, making the current move by the Union government appear hasty," Vijayan added.

The Chief Minister also raised concerns over the Union government's claim that South Indian states would get additional seats on a pro-rata basis. "It remains unclear whether this distribution will be based on the percentage of current parliamentary seats or population figures. Either way, South Indian states are set to lose representation," he warned.

Vijayan urged the Centre to address the concerns of South Indian states and uphold the principles of democracy and federalism by avoiding unilateral decisions.