"Not delimitation, discrimination": Congress Manickam Tagore tells Kiren Rijiju to stop "lecturing" southern, eastern states

New Delhi [India], April 15 : Calling the recent proposal to increase in Lok Sabha seats as part of the delimitation exercise an act of "discrimination", Congress leader Manickam Tagore on Wednesday took a jibe at Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, calling him a 'propaganda minister' and saying he should "stop lecturing southern states about their so called 'fortune'."

"Propaganda Minister @KirenRijiju must stop lecturing southern and eastern states about their so-called "fortune." This is not delimitationit is discrimination," Tagore wrote on X on Wednesday, tagging the Union Minister too.

Tagore also shared a graphic snippet from a news daily that detailed which states would receive a proportional increase in seats. According to the graphic referenced by Tagore, the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra will be the 'top gainers' in the proposed delimitation.

Whereas Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (data based on the 2011 census before formation of state), Odisha and West Bengal will lose more seats than others. Multiple southern states, including Telangana and poll-bound Tamil Nadu have called for better transparency and a fair representation for those states.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government proposed increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats to 850 as part of its intention to implement the Women's Reservation Act from the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, with 815 seats proposed to the states and the remaining 35 for the Union Territories, according to sources.

Speaking on the delimitation exercise on Tuesday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju looked to assuage the feeling of anyone who might think they might lose out on representation. Saying that some people were "misleading" others on representation for southern states, Rijiju said that there is "nothing to worry about" as every community, region, and state is fairly represented in the proposal.

"Every state, every region, community, there is nothing to worry. Everything is taken care of. The southern states, some people tried to mislead in the past that southern states will lose out due to successful family planning. The southern states are fortunate that despite controlling the population growth, despite less people in terms of proportion, they still gain because the number has risen proportionately," Union Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters.

"Every region is fairly distributed and given a provision. I feel this proposed bill is absolutely balanced, well thought of and which will take care of aspiration for every community, regions, state. So there is no scope for criticism," he added.

The Lok Sabha has 543 seats at present. The government intends to move a Constitution amendment bill for the implementation of a 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha from 2029 in a special sitting of Parliament on April 16, 17,18. Apart from that, the proposed delimitation will increase the seats across the board for all states.

The special sitting of the budget session will discuss amendments to Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 and the proposed Delimitation Bill.

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