Why hasty delimitation, asks CPI

CHENNAI: CPI state secretary M Veerapandian on Friday criticised the Union government’s move to push ahead with constituency delimitation, terming it “hasty and anti-democratic”.

In a statement, he said that amid the ongoing five-state Assembly polls, the Union government was attempting to hastily introduce delimitation, which he described as undermining democratic principles.

He claimed that under the guise of constituency reorganisation, the Centre was attempting to weaken the voice of southern States in Parliament.

According to him, the real intent is to increase the number of constituencies in northern states, where the BJP is electorally stronger, thereby helping the Union government retain power at the Centre.

He further alleged that the move was aimed at advancing a Hindutva-driven political agenda and paving the way for a centralised, authoritarian form of governance.

He said the Union government was already not allocating adequate time in Parliament to raise issues concerning states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and warned that their representation would further diminish after delimitation.

He raised concerns over the lack of clarity on whether the exercise would be based on the 2021 Census or 1971 data, and warned that using recent population figures could disproportionately benefit northern states while reducing southern representation.

He said the move would penalise states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for controlling population growth, and could undermine federalism and the Constitution’s basic structure.

Urging the Centre to withdraw the proposal, he called on Left, democratic and secular forces to unite to protect the rights of southern states and safeguard democracy.