Congress criticises PM Modi’s plan to increase Lok Sabha seats

The Congress on Sunday strongly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats, saying he is “bulldozing” the move that will work more to the benefit of larger and populous States and is nothing but a “Weapon of Mass Distraction (WMD)”.

The Opposition party also alleged that the prime minister is “hoodwinking” the people of the country and is making misleading statements that are meant to deceive. In a social media post, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The PM is up to his usual tricks of making misleading statements that are meant to deceive. He says South Indian states will not be hurt in any way if the strength of the Lok Sabha is increased by 50 per cent and the number of seats of each state in the Lok Sabha is also increased by 50 per cent.” “This is hoodwinking the people of the country in which the PM has unique expertise,” Ramesh said.

For example, the difference between UP’s and Kerala’s seats in the Lok Sabha is now 60 and Modi’s proposal will increase it to 90, he said. Similarly, the difference between UP and Tamil Nadu will increase from 41 to at least 61, Ramesh said and added that such examples can be multiplied. “Modi is bulldozing a proposal that will work more to the benefit of larger and populous states since their already large numbers will get further magnified,” the Congress leader said.

It is not just South India but states like Punjab and Haryana and those in the North East, that will also see their relative influence decline, he argued. “The nation is facing a serious economic and foreign policy crisis. All that the PM is bothered about is pushing through an increase in the strength of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas without meaningful consultations and widespread public debate. This is nothing but a Weapon of Mass Distraction (WMD),” Ramesh said.

Tagging Ramesh’s post, Congress MP Manish Tewari said Jairam Ramesh is absolutely prescient and the framing by PM Modi is absolutely erroneous.

“The framing must be how much will Southern India, Western India, North Eastern India and North Western India lose in terms of political heft as compared to the Hindi heartland States of India in terms of the gap in the number of Parliamentary seats between them and the Hindi heartland States,” Tewari said. The Chandigarh MP noted that states and UTs like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi together have just 40 seats in Lok Sabha, as opposed to Uttar Pradesh’s 80, and said, “This gap will only further increase” post delimitation.

“Whatever @PMOIndia & @BJP4India is proposing that is yet unclear will further skew the Federal Balance to the detriment of the non-Hindi heartland States,” Tewari said in his post.

His remarks come a day after Prime Minister Modi said that the Budget session of Parliament has been extended for three days so that the law enacted in 2023 for providing 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be implemented from 2029. On Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, had said the House will meet again soon to consider a key legislation.

“We have certain bills and important issues, and we have shared this with the opposition also.

We are going to have a very important bill in the next two to three weeks,” he said.

It later emerged that the Budget session of Parliament will reconvene on April 16 after a brief recess to pass bills to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 816 so that the women’s reservation law can be implemented at the earliest.

Addressing an NDA election rally in Kerala, Modi said the Government will ensure, during the April 16-18 Parliament sitting, a legal stamp that no State, whether it is Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, or Telangana, will see a reduction in Lok Sabha seats.

The prime minister said that the NDA Government has given 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies through a law in 2023.

“Do you know why it will reconvene? The law we have passed for 33 per cent reservation for women, so that its benefits can begin from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, and 33 per cent of our sisters can sit in Parliament. For this, further legal provisions are needed,” Modi said.

The Women’s Reservation Act was passed by Parliament in 2023. The provision to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was brought by amending the Constitution, but it will come into effect after the completion of the delimitation exercise.

If the proposal to implement the law even before the delimitation exercise actually materialises, another amendment to the Constitution will be required. The Government is expected to amend the law to this effect in the three-day sitting of the Parliament.

The prime minister urged all parties that this is an issue related to women’s empowerment, so they should, with an open mind and without any political calculations, fully support it and become partners in winning the trust of the country’s mothers and sisters.

He said that the Government had invited members of Congress for discussions and hoped that they would come and agree with it.

The Congress on Friday had alleged that the Government has called a “special session” of Parliament for passing bills related to amending the women’s quota law and delimitation to “grab political mileage” in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu polls, which, it claimed, is a “gross violation” of the model code of conduct.

Asserting that the Government’s push for a rushed delimitation exercise would have “dangerous consequences”, Ramesh had said, “We do not want any disturbance in the present differentials and relative strength.”

The Congress had cautioned against any haste in amending the Constitution regarding delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies, saying it is a sensitive matter and the Government must tread carefully, otherwise the exercise might put several States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala at a significant disadvantage.

Ramesh had said the Government kept “sleeping” for 30 months after the passage of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, and now wants to take “double credit” in the election season.

While the Government is keen on passing the bills, including amending the Women’s Reservation Act 2023, officially called Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, or Narishakti Vandan Adhiniyam, the opposition has accused the Centre of trying to hurriedly move for passing amendments to take political advantage in the State elections.