Bengaluru, April 15 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday strongly opposed the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise, terming it a “political re-engineering” at the cost of southern states.

In a media statement, Shivakumar said the proposal to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 would systematically reduce the representation of southern states while rewarding regions with unchecked population growth, alleging that the move amounts to “punishing progress and good governance”.

Clarifying the party’s stand, he said the Congress fully supports women’s reservation in legislatures and noted that it was former Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s vision and commitment that brought the issue to the national agenda. However, he insisted that the implementation of women’s reservation should not be linked to delimitation or expansion of Lok Sabha seats.

Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, urged the Union government not to use women’s empowerment as a cover to push what he described as a deeply unfair political agenda. He also criticised the timing of the proposal, stating that attempting such a major restructuring of India’s democratic framework during elections, without transparency or adequate consultation, is “deeply suspicious and unacceptable”.

Emphasising the need for balance in the federal structure, he said India’s strength lies in fairness and not in domination or manipulation.

He further asserted that southern states would stand united and speak in one voice to defend the spirit of federalism. He said they would not allow the south to be politically marginalised under any circumstances.

Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had also raised concerns regarding delimitation.

Responding to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s criticism against the Centre, Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi had accused the Congress of trying to create divisions by raising a “North-South states” narrative over the issue of Lok Sabha constituency delimitation.

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.​

–IANS

mka/vd