Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has urged the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to uphold their legacy on fair delimitation. His argument is that the long-standing constitutional freeze on Lok Sabha seat allocation should not be disturbed without attention to federal balance and State-wise representation.
The dispute is important because delimitation affects how parliamentary seats are distributed among States. Ramesh says the political choice is whether India should continue using the 1971 Census as the reference point or move to a new redistribution formula that could favour more populous States.
Background and earlier position
Ramesh refers to two earlier constitutional freezes. He cites DMK’s participation in the 1976 freeze and the role of both DMK and TDP in the 2001 freeze. His point is that both parties have previously supported safeguards against an abrupt change in seat distribution.
He also says Congress supports extending the freeze for another 25 years. In his framing, the freeze protects smaller or slower-growing States from losing parliamentary influence purely because of differential population growth.
What changed now
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