KTR objects to linking women’s reservation with delimitation

BRS working president KT Rama Rao criticised the Union Government for linking women’s reservation with delimitation and constitutional amendments, urging immediate implementation without complications. He warned that basing seat increases solely on population would disadvantage southern states and trigger backlash.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao strongly objected to the unnecessary linkage being made between women’s reservation, delimitation, and constitutional amendments. He questioned why the Union Government was complicating the issue.

“Implement women’s reservation immediately. There are 543 seats in Parliament, apply it there. In Telangana, there are 119 Assembly seats (so) implement it here as well. Why create confusion by linking it to seat increases and delimitation?” he asked.

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He said as per constitutional procedure, the sequence must be followed properly, first the census, then delimitation, and only thereafter any structural changes like reservations.

Speaking to mediapersons at Peerzadiguda here on Wednesday, Rama Rao expressed serious concerns over its apparent inconsistencies. While the BJP leaders spoke about a 50 per cent standard increase in seats across legislative bodies, he pointed out that the bill itself made no mention of it.

He reiterated that BRS has been raising concerns over delimitation and representation since 2022–23, warning that using population as the sole basis for increasing parliamentary seats would unfairly penalise southern states.

He cautioned the Union government that ignoring these concerns would have serious consequences. “You are sitting on a powder keg. If southern India’s representation is tampered with, it will lead to a massive backlash,” he said, adding that BRS is prepared to join hands with other parties to oppose such moves.

When asked about Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s proposed hybrid model for delimitation based on development indicators along with population, Rama Rao said the former himself was a hybrid Chief Minister without consistency in his political stance.

“In the morning he represents Congress, by evening he aligns with BJP. Naturally, such a hybrid approach reflects in governance as well,” he remarked.

He criticised the Chief Minister for double standards, pointing out that while procedures are being demanded from others, the same were ignored during the division of Hyderabad into three municipal corporations without consulting GHMC representatives, ZPTC members, or MLAs.

“You cannot have one policy for yourself and another for others. As a national party, Congress must speak with clarity and responsibility instead of making contradictory statements,” he added.