KTR expresses concern over gross injustice to southern states
If Lok Sabha seats are allocated based on the latest census, UP and Bihar together will have 222 seats, while the five southern states—TG, AP, TN, KA, and KL—will collectively get only 165 seats, says KTR
Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao has expressed deep concern over the impending injustice to southern states in the proposed delimitation of constituencies. He warned that the Central Government’s decision to redraw constituencies based on population would turn into a curse for Telangana and other southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. KTR fully endorsed the apprehensions voiced by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on social media regarding this issue.
Questioning the Modi government’s intentions, KTR asked, “Is the Central Government planning to punish southern states that have successfully implemented population control as a mission for the nation’s welfare?” He strongly criticised the move, stating, “Redrawing constituencies solely based on population, without considering the efforts of southern states in population control, is against the spirit of democracy and federalism.”
KTR emphasised that the contributions of southern states to nation-building cannot be ignored. “In 1951, southern states accounted for 26.2% of India’s population, which has declined to 19.8% by 2022.
Meanwhile, the population share of northern states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan has risen from 39.1% to 43.2%.
If Lok Sabha seats are allocated based on the latest census, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar together will have 222 seats, while the five southern states—Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala—will collectively get only 165 seats,” he explained.
“Southern states have outperformed northern states in key sectors like economic growth, human development indices, and population control. Penalising performing states and rewarding laggards is not in the nation’s best interest,” KTR asserted.
Proposing an alternative, he suggested that constituency delimitation should be based on economic contribution rather than population. “Telangana, despite contributing only 2.8 per cent to India’s population, accounts for over 5.2 per cent of the country’s GDP. Similarly, southern states make immense contributions to the national economy. This factor must be considered in the delimitation process,” he urged.
