The CPM has demanded the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to convene an all-party meeting with all political parties and intellectuals on delimitation. CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao speaking at a meeting convened by Jana Chaitanya Vedika in Vijayawada said that such a meeting will be helpful to discuss on how to avoid the risk of reducing the representation of Lok Sabha members from the Southern States
He deplored that it was unfortunate that the YSRCP, TDP and Jana Sena parties did not attend the conference on delimitation held recently in Chennai and that the Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu did not participate. He reminded that a significant number of people from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and Karnataka participated in the delimitation conference, regardless of politics.
He accused that the BJP is acting with the evil intention of doing delimitation on the basis of population to increase its political dominance and benefit the northern states. He alleged that Chandrababu Naidu, who has the highest number of seats, unfortunately now turned as the weakest in the country’s politics.
Congress Party Media Committee State Chairman and former Rajya Sabha member Dr. N. Tulasi Reddy deplored that if delimitation is done on the basis of population, the southern states will suffer a great loss and the unity and integrity of the country will be at risk.
As done in the past by the late Indira Gandhi and the late Vajpayee, he said that the Lok Sabha seats should be kept as they are, and if one-third reservation for women comes into effect from 2026, the seats that will increase should be increased in equal proportion to all the states. He explained that in 1952, the Lok Sabha seats were 489, but today they have reached 543.
Jana Chaitanya Vedika State President V Lakshman Reddy, presiding over the meeting, asked the State Chief Minister to immediately convene a special assembly meeting and collect the opinions of the members on delimitation, take a resolution and send it to the Central Government. He said that the BJP has not had even one percent of its members in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the last decade, but on many occasions it has received 100% voting support.
Former minister Vadde Shobhanadriswara Rao alleged that the central government is allocating more funds to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar than to the southern states. He said that those who are losing Lok Sabha seats should be allotted Rajya Sabha seats to compensate for the loss. He said that no state will suffer a loss if delimitation is done on the basis of 1971 census.
Former MLC K.S. Lakshmana Rao said that there are 100 seats in the US Senate, and that two senators are allocated to each state regardless of population size, and that the House of Representatives has been running with 435 members for the last three centuries, and that there have been no problems.
Senior CPI state leader A. Vanaja said that the BJP discriminates against the southern states and allocates more than 60 percent of the central funds to only seven states. She accused that the corrupt leaders of regional parties are helpless to fight the center due to the fear of the CBI, ED and IT.