"Is it crime to demand equitable representation in Lok Sabha?": Telangana Minister Sridhar Babu on delimitation

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 17 : Telangana Minister D. Sridhar Babu on Friday said demands for equitable representation in the Lok Sabha were being wrongly portrayed, asserting that it is a legitimate constitutional right of states.

"Is it a fault to demand a proper and equitable representation of our people in the Lok Sabha? Is it a crime? We are just demanding our equal rights in the Indian Union of States, and we have every right to ask for it. That is the reason our Chief Minister was speaking about it," he said.

He further said concerns over proportional representation were being ignored.

"They were just speaking on the numbers, just imagining a big state having about 85 to 100 seats becoming almost double to 170 seats. Is it comparable at all? That does not give equitable democratic space in national politics. That is what we are demanding legitimately," Sridhar Babu said.

Sridhar Babu added that the Centre must address the concerns of the southern states.

"It is the duty of the government to answer the apprehensions of people of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala or Tamil Nadu. We are relentlessly asking the central government. Increasing numbers or doubling seats does not suffice our political representation," he said.

Earlier, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Tuesday called for a protracted struggle against the Union government, demanding that seats in Southern states be allocated based on the pro-rata principle during the delimitation of constituencies.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha is continuing its discussion and vote on the passage of the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and State Assemblies, along with the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) bill, 2026 extending it to Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Delimitation Bill, which is set to increase and redraw Lok Sabha constituencies, increasing them to 850.

Earlier on Thursday, the Lok Sabha held a marathon 12-hour session to discuss the amendments to the women's reservation bill, which removes the need to implement the bill only after the census is conducted.

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