Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has urged the Centre to convene a special session of the Parliament in June to enact constitutional amendments for delimitation, increase of seats and a guarantee that continuation of the current share of representation of states would continue for the next 30 years.
Citing news reports indicating women’s representation in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies is being considered based on the 2011 Census, Stalin said, “This step is not in line with the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023 passed by the Union BJP government and its earlier position to take up this historic initiative only after delimitation is carried our based on the Census conducted after 2026.”
In a social media post, he said, “This (initiative by the Centre) is most probably aimed at securing electoral gains in the forthcoming Assembly elections in four major states.”
“This is most probably aimed at securing electoral gains in the forthcoming Assembly elections in four major States. Pushing such an important step when the Model Code of Conduct is already in force is unprecedented,” Stalin said in a post on X. “Having said that, as the President of the DMK and the proud inheritor of the Dravidian legacy that has spearheaded women’s empowerment for more than a century, I fully support this initiative of Women’s Reservation without any preconditions, while at the same time stressing our right to fair delimitation,” he added.
Recent reports indicate that the Centre is mulling delimitation based on the 2011 Census so that it can fast-track the Women’s Reservation Act before the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. Under the proposed amendments, the number of Lok Sabha seats will increase from 543 to 816, with 273 seats reserved for women.
“It is our consistent stand that the current proportional representation of States should not be disturbed under any circumstances. To achieve this, the delimitation and distribution of constituencies among States must include a constitutional provision ensuring the same for the next 30 years,” Stalin added.
Considering the current Model Code of Conduct and the fact that parties across numerous states are preoccupied, he requested that a Special Session of Parliament be convened in early June to enact these constitutional amendments for “delimitation, increase of seats, continuation of the current share of representation of States, and a guarantee that such representation will continue for the next 30 years.”
