Industries Minister KT Rama Rao urged South Indian states to unite against LS delimitation based on population in 2026.
“The people of southern states need to raise their voices cutting across political affiliations against this injustice,” KTR said.
“The irony of the situation is that states that have not accepted the Centre’s population control measures will now have the last laugh. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, AP, Karnataka and Telangana which have done well in population control will now be penalised! Not only population control and HDIs, the southern states which have 18% of the population contribute 35% to India’s GDP,” he said.
KTR said that the contributors to the national economy and growth should not be punished. “This is indeed a tragedy if it comes true. The southern states have been best performers on all fronts after Independence,” KTR said.
“The Centre is planning to redistribute Lok Sabha constituencies on the basis of population. If this is done, the Lok Sabha seats for northern states with the highest population like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will increase massively,” he said.
In 2026 after delimitation, UP and Bihar will have 222 LS seats, West Bengal 60, Maharashtra 76, Gujarat 43, southern states 165 and other states 282, he said.
“For southern states which have been moving ahead in population control FP will now become a ‘political punishment’. In the name of achieving national goals, the northern states, which have rejected population control measures will now dominate parliament,” the BRS said.
