Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 15 (ANI): Congress Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister, P Chidambaram, on Wednesday demanded a fair delimitation process, calling the proposal to increase 50 per cent Lok Sabha seats an 'illusion.'

Addressing a press conference in Coimbatore, P Chidambaram opposed the timing of the three-day Parliament sitting to pass the amendment to the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and constitution amendment to increase the Lok Sabha seats to 850. He said that several Opposition MPs might not be able to attend Parliament amid elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

He said, 'The BJP government has said that it will convene the House to pass the Delimitation Bill without opposition. If Parliament is convened tomorrow, we will not be able to look at the sections in it. We are not saying no to delimitation. We are saying that we want fair delimitation. But now, suddenly, they are saying that the MP seats will be increased by 50 per cent. Delimitation is an illusion and a deception. By convening the Lok Sabha on April 16 and passing this bill, the central government is trying to create a situation where the opposition MPs in the states where elections are held are unable to participate in it.'

He clarified that the Congress and the INDIA bloc do not oppose the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023; however, he questioned the hurry to implement it.

'We support reservations for women. It is the Congress party that brought this. The INDIA alliance supported the reservation bill in 2023. The Congress said that one-third of the 543 seats should be reserved for women in the 2024 parliamentary elections. But after sleeping for 30 months, they are suddenly waking up from their slumber and bringing it up in a hurry,' the senior Congress leader stated.

MDMK leader Durai Vaiko also questioned the timing of delimitation, flagging that it coincides with Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

'We welcome the 33 per cent reservation for women in the state assembly and in Parliament. In fact, we requested the government to have this 33 per cent reservation in the 2024 parliamentary elections. Now, suddenly, when we have elections in five states, including Tamil Nadu, the government suddenly announces that it is proposing to bring in delimitation and the women's reservation. It's very unfortunate. I don't know the reason behind this urgency, but the delimitation bill has, in fact, raised serious concerns among the opposition parties. Our CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM, Karnataka CM, and other opposition CMs put a request to the prime minister and to the BJP government, asking for a discussion on this Delimitation Bill to probably make sure that it does not affect the states,' Durai Vaiko told ANI.

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women legislators, is linked to the delimitation process in the Lok Sabha. The government is planning to implement the women's reservation ahead of the 2029 General Elections by bringing in an amendment to the 2023 Act and a constitutional amendment to delink the delimitation process from the 2027 census.

According to sources, the government has proposed to increase the number of seats in the House to 850, with 815 seats proposed for the States and the remaining 35 for the Union Territories. The Lok Sabha has 543 seats at present.

While the seats in the Lok Sabha will witness a 50 per cent increase, the opposition parties have expressed concern as this increase will not be on a pro-rata basis for each state. The INDIA bloc parties claimed that the proposed delimitation shrinks the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha. The delimitation exercise, under Article 82 of the Constitution, is linked to the population of a constituency. (ANI)