NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and Chandigarh Member of Parliament Manish Tewari on Thursday waded into the delimitation debate saying the exercise, if conducted on the existing formula, will pose as much danger to northern states as to southern.
The first opposition leader from the North to flag the challenges delimitation may pose for Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Tewari said “the current delimitation principle of ‘one citizen, one vote, one value’ will not work”.
“If the delimitation exercise is done on the current principle, not only would southern states lose, even the northern states would lose. The representation of northern states already disadvantaged compared to central India will become even more miniscule as a percentage of a bigger Lok Sabha. Such an exercise will only reward laggard states that did not practise population stabilisation. Anything that leads to unease in both north and south India is not very kosher from a national security standpoint,” Tewari said in an interview to The Tribune, adding that was the very reason why successive governments thought it prudent to freeze the Lok Sabha strength at 543 MPs based on the 1971 Census data.
As for solutions, the former Union minister said there should either be a freeze on the Lok Sabha composition on the basis of the 1971 Census, as suggested by DMK chief MK Stalin, or a new delimitation formula be evolved for equitable representation of states in the overall composition of the new Lok Sabha.
Under the current position that flows from the 84th amendment of the Constitution passed in 2001, the LS strength remains frozen at 543 seats (drafted by the third Delimitation Commission set up after the 1971 Census) until 2026.
Before this, the 42nd amendment to the Constitution had frozen the lower house strength at 543 MPs until 2000. The 84th amendment was brought as the freeze was ending in the 2001 Census and needed to be extended.
With the current freeze due for expiry in 2026, the government will have to either amend the Constitution again to further extend it or conduct delimitation based on a new census which is nowhere in sight.
On the 1971 Census benchmark rationale, Tewari said it was with the goal of population stabilisation that the 42nd amendment (in 1976) froze LS seats at 543 till 2000 and later the 84th amendment extended this freeze until 2026. The idea that was no state should be rewarded for a rise in population, he said, adding: “Even when large parts of the 42nd amendment were repealed by the 44th amendment, the LS freeze was untouched.”
Citing a Carnegie study, Tewari said if the Lok Sabha was expanded today using 2026 population projections and the current delimitation formula, its strength would rise to around 848 MPs.
“Estimates say Punjab will get 18 seats against current 13; Haryana 18 against current 10; Himachal LS strength will be unchanged at four; and J&K’s will rise from six to nine. Contrastingly, UP will go up from 80 to 143 seats, Bihar from 40 to 76; MP from 29 to 52; and Rajasthan from 25 to 50. Where is it going to leave the northern states, which are already at a disadvantage in the current LS?” said Tewari.
He further said Delhi’s LS strength would rise from seven to 12 due to the influx of population but Punjab, facing emigration, would suffer. He warned against depleted parliamentary representation to sensitive border states such as Punjab and J&K. “Would Punjab accept parity with Haryana? Would Himachal accept zero increase in LS strength? Would J&K accept a marginal increase?” he said.
He urged north Indian leaders to wake up to the challenge as delimitation on the current formula would mean not just more representation for central Indian states in the LS but also their larger vidhan sabhas and greater strength in RS.