AICC spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said the Congress was opposed to the Lok Sabha “changing the relative strength of the country” and criticized the “hasty proposal” to increase the number of parliamentary seats “proportionately”. He said the move would permanently put southern states like Tennessee and Kerala at a disadvantage vis-à-vis northern states, while also hurting northeastern states, northwestern states like Punjab and smaller states. Ramesh said there are unofficial reports that the Modi government is planning a new delimitation law that will increase the seats of all states in the Lok Sabha and Parliament by 50%.Citing Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, Ramesh said Uttar Pradesh’s seats may increase from 80 to 120, while Kerala’s may increase from 20 to 30 seats. Congress Neta believes that the earlier gap of 60 seats will widen to 90 seats.“The opposition will take a united stance and the government’s strategy of dividing the parties will not succeed,” he said. Ramesh also refuted the government’s argument linking quotas to delimitation and cited the Registrar General of India’s statement that the census results would be announced in 2027.
