Chennai (Tamil Nadu), March 22: At the recent meeting on delimitation, former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik voiced strong concerns regarding the potential unfairness of a population-based delimitation process. Speaking via video-conference, Patnaik emphasized the importance of ensuring democratic representation and protecting the rights of people in states that have made significant efforts to control and stabilize their population.
“This is an important meeting to ensure democratic representation and rights of people living in states that have done very well to control and stabilize population,” Patnaik said.
Patnaik stressed that population control is a national priority contributing directly to the country’s development. He expressed concern that states like Odisha, which have successfully managed population growth, should not be penalized for their achievements.
“Population Control is an important national agenda for the development of our country. While this has been our contribution towards a positive national agenda, towards building a strong India, delimitation based only on population figures will be unfair to the states that have worked hard to reduce their population growth rates in line with national priorities,” Patnaik explained.
Patnaik reiterated his party’s position, asserting that population should not be the only criterion used to determine the number of seats in the Lok Sabha, India’s highest representative body. He suggested that the Union Government should engage in detailed discussions with all political parties to clear up any doubts regarding the delimitation process.
“It is our stand that population should not be the only criteria to determine the number of seats in the highest representative body of our country,” he remarked. “I suggest that the Union Government take up a detailed discussion with all parties so as to remove any doubts on this very important issue that has far-reaching implications for our democracy,” he added.
Earlier, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also criticized the BJP-led central government over the delimitation issue. He stated that the process, moving forward without adequate consultation, is not based on any constitutional or democratic principles, but driven by “narrow political interests.”
Vijayan warned that if delimitation is carried out solely on the basis of population, it would disproportionately affect southern states like Kerala, which have successfully reduced their population since the last delimitation exercise in 1973. He further argued that such a process would increase the number of seats for northern states while reducing the representation of southern states.
“If our Parliamentary representation is further reduced, while our share of the nation’s wealth continues to decline, we will face an unprecedented situation in which both our rightful share of funds and our political voice will diminish simultaneously,” Vijayan said.
Patnaik, along with other leaders from states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, and Punjab, joined the coordinated resistance, marking the formation of a Joint Action Committee under the leadership of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. The collective opposition aims to ensure that the delimitation process is fair and does not undermine the political power of states that have effectively managed their population growth.
The leaders expressed concerns that the central government’s actions, including fiscal, language, cultural policies, and now delimitation, are destabilizing India’s federal system and democratic framework. The states have united in protest, calling for a fair approach to the delimitation process.