Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, on Wednesday, August 12, introduced a resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly urging the Union government to permanently retain the Lok Sabha's strength at 543 seats according to a PTI reported cited by the Print.
The resolution, according to PTI, calls on the Centre to keep the Lok Sabha strength fixed at 543 seats. It also seeks 33% reservation for women in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, with Vijay arguing that the quota should be implemented within the existing 543 seats instead of waiting for any increase after delimitation.
Vijay stated in the resolution that women's reservation should not be delayed further and described it as a democratic right rather than a concession, PTI reported.
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The resolution comes amid the ongoing political debate over delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, with southern states, including Tamil Nadu, expressing concern that a population-based redistribution could reduce their relative representation because of their success in population control measures.
Vijay's resolution specifically argued that states that implemented population control programmes should not be adversely affected by the proposed delimitation exercise.
Tamil Nadu has effectively implemented population control measures and fears that using population figures from a post-1971 census could permanently affect the parliamentary representation of southern states.
The resolution therefore argues that the Centre has a responsibility to ensure that states that adopted population control programmes are not penalised through changes in parliamentary representation.
Reacting to the Assembly resolution, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said the move was in line with the party's long-standing position on protecting Tamil Nadu's representation in Parliament.
The resolution does not change the composition of the Lok Sabha on its own. Any change to the number or allocation of seats would require constitutional and legislative action by the Centre.
The move, however, puts Tamil Nadu at the heart of the wider debate over delimitation, women's reservation and the impact of population-based representation.
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