Southern States will not accept delimitation with present population: Vinod Kumar

Vinod Kumar said that southern States would not accept and keep quiet if delimitation of Parliament seats was carried out based on the present population.

Karimnagar: Senior BRS leader B Vinod Kumar opined that Southern States would not accept and keep quiet if delimitation of Parliament seats was carried out based on the present population.

Vinod Kumar, who was here to cast his vote for Graduates’ constituency MLC elections on Thursday, told reporters that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had made a statement that southern states would lose eight parliament seats if delimitation was done. Contrary to the statement, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made it clear that not a single seat would be reduced.

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When asked about his reaction to both the statements, the BRS leader termed both the statements as true. Seats would definitely come down if the delimitation was carried out depending on the present population. Referring Amit Shah’s statement, he informed that seats would not reduce if delimitation was done by following the 1971 census. In this regard, the Union Government may make constitutional amendments in Parliament. That was why Shah made such a statement, he said.

When delimitation was announced in 1971, the population of southern states started declining. Noticing it, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made a constitutional amendment stating that the 1971 census would be continued for the next 20 years to take up delimitation. In 2001, the Vajpayee government extended it for another 20 years. So, the Union Government may extend it for further 20 years through the constitutional amendment, he opined.

Southern states may not keep quiet if parliament seats were reduced since the former had an option that the Centre was spending money collected from the south in northern states. If the Telangana government paid Rs 100 to the Centre under various taxes, in return, the State was getting only Rs.49. Whereas, northern states such as Uttar Pradesh was getting Rs 499 and Bihar Rs 600, he informed. So, the southern state would not accept losing of parliament seats, he made it clear.