Davanagere, April 6 (IANS) Responding to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s criticism against the Centre, Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Monday accused the Congress of trying to create divisions by raising a “North-South states” narrative over the issue of Lok Sabha constituency delimitation, and launched a sharp attack on the Chief Minister.​

Addressing a press conference in Davanagere, Joshi rejected Siddaramaiah’s allegation that the BJP is attempting to increase the number of constituencies in northern states where it has a stronger presence through the delimitation process.​

He said that the number of voters in each Lok Sabha constituency across states has increased by 40 to 50 lakh, and the Centre is undertaking delimitation based on population percentages. Accordingly, the number of constituencies is likely to increase in most states, including Karnataka, he indicated, dismissing the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as baseless.​

Questioning the Congress, Joshi asked who was in power at the Centre in 2008, when delimitation was carried out earlier. “If there were mistakes, why were they not corrected then?” he asked.​

He alleged that despite late Manmohan Singh being the Prime Minister, all decisions were effectively controlled by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. ​

Referring to past incidents, he accused Rahul Gandhi of arrogance and questioned his authority to lecture others.​

Joshi noted that delimitation exercises in 1952, 1963, 1971, and 2001 were all based on population criteria. ​

He accused the Congress of lacking a national perspective and instead trying to create divisions between North and South India to provoke conflict among people.​

“Does Congress not want votes from North India?” he asked, adding that by invoking regional divisions during elections, the party is hurting national unity. ​

The BJP strongly condemns such attempts, he said, adding that Siddaramaiah’s remarks suggest an admission that Congress does not expect votes from northern India.​

He asserted that whether the number of constituencies increases or decreases after delimitation, it will not affect the BJP, as people have faith in the party. He alleged that Congress is making baseless accusations because it is weakening nationwide.

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Joshi said that he goes abroad whenever elections are held in the country instead of engaging with voters, which has led to the Congress losing ground nationwide.​

Regarding cooking gas, he said that despite shortages in several countries due to the Middle East conflict, India has not faced such a crisis so far. “We have around 70 per cent stock reserves, and there is no issue with domestic LPG supply,” he clarified.​

He acknowledged that there might be minor issues with auto LPG but said there is no shortage.

“There are 372 auto LPG centres in the state, of which 72 are government‑run. Private centres are more in number and are importing auto LPG,” he said, adding that the Centre will respond to the concerns of auto drivers. ​

He suggested that auto drivers could temporarily switch to petrol if needed.​

Criticising the state government, Joshi said that the Congress had announced five guarantee schemes but had failed to implement even one properly. ​

“Yuva Nidhi is virtually non‑existent, and the rice supplied by the Centre is being distributed under the Anna Bhagya scheme,” he alleged.​

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday stated: “I welcome Prime Minister PM Modi finally opening his mouth on the proposed delimitation exercise. This sudden concern for ‘reassuring’ southern states appears less like statesmanship and more like election‑driven messaging, timed conveniently with political calculations in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.​

“Let us be clear: the issue has never been about whether the number of Lok Sabha seats of southern states increases. The concern is about how they increase, and who benefits disproportionately.”​

“Under the proposed expansion, while every state may see an increase, the rate and scale of increase clearly favour BJP‑dominated states. Uttar Pradesh is expected to go from 80 to 120 seats (+40), Maharashtra from 48 to 72 (+24), Bihar from 40 to 60 (+20), Madhya Pradesh from 29 to 43-44 (+14–15), Rajasthan from 25 to 37–38 (+12–13), and Gujarat from 26 to 39 (+13),” the Chief Minister stated.​

In contrast, southern states see smaller gains. Karnataka rises from 28 to 42 (+14), Tamil Nadu from 39 to 58-59 (+20), Andhra Pradesh from 25 to 37–38 (+12-13), Telangana from 17 to 25-26 (+8-9), and Kerala from 20 to 30 (+10), he stated.​

“The numbers are telling. Five southern states together gain barely 63–66 additional seats, while just these seven BJP‑dominated states gain about 128–131 seats, nearly double,” CM Siddaramaiah said.​

–IANS

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