CHENNAI: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Wednesday urged the Centre to withdraw the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 850 members, and continue with the existing system. Unlike the DMK and its allies, who accused the BJP-led NDA government directly, Vijay's statement neither mentioned the BJP nor the Narendra Modi government.
Vijay said the Bill, which is set to be taken up for discussion in the special session of Parliament beginning Thursday (April 16), proposes a significant restructuring of the Lok Sabha.
He welcomed the proposed legislation providing 33% reservation for women in Parliament; however, he cautioned that the larger amendment, if passed, would substantially widen the proportional gap in representation between southern and northern States.
He said such a shift would diminish the representation of southern States in law-making on issues related to language, culture and State rights, while increasing the influence of northern States in shaping Union government policies. This, he noted, could weaken the ability of States such as Tamil Nadu to effectively voice their concerns in Parliament.
Describing the move as discriminatory, Vijay said it would amount to penalising States that have consistently adhered to Union government policies, while rewarding those that have not.
He further warned that any change in the number and proportion of parliamentary constituencies could have implications for fiscal devolution. Alterations in representation, he said, may be reflected in reduced financial allocations to States.
Referring to concerns already raised by the State government, he said Tamil Nadu has been facing losses in financial sharing and has not been receiving adequate funds and projects during budget allocations.
He added that any delimitation exercise based on population following the amendment could further reduce funding for population-based schemes, thereby adversely affecting Tamil Nadu and other southern States.