Chidambaram: Delimitation will silence and stifle South Indian voice in Parliament

Coimbatore: Former Union Minister P Chidambaram It was claimed on Wednesday that the central government’s move to increase the seats in the Lok Sabha by 50 per cent in the name of “delimitation” is a deceptive strategy aimed at systematically weakening the political influence of the southern states.The senior Congress leader, speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, shared his criticism of the special session of Parliament and the proposed delimitation bill.

Talking about the expansion of seats in the Lok Sabha, Chidambaram said: “If the delimitation is done directly, the people will know clearly. tamil naduSeats will be reduced from 39 to 32. To cover this up, they first increase the total number of seats by 50% and then proceed with delimitation. This is just an illusion. While Tamil Nadu’s assembly seats may increase to 46, our strength ratio will go down significantly compared to the northern states. “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 fall from 24.3% to 20.7%. “This is a dangerous move that will further silence and stifle South Indian voices in Parliament,” he warned.Criticizing the decision to convene a special session of Parliament on April 16, Chidambaram asked: “Why convene the meeting now when 67 MPs from Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are busy with election work? This 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 whether the bill would impact Tamil Nadu, EPS said Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured him that there would be no impact. Is he a political leader or just a “megaphone” for Amit Shah? It is appalling that he relies on the words of the Home Secretary rather than analyzing the impact on the country. “

He added that former diplomats have said that India’s foreign policy has been derailed and the country currently lacks real allies on the global stage.Chidambaram said that the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed in 2023 with the support of the Indian Group and questioned why the government used the census as an excuse to delay its implementation.