Congress MP Manish Tewari on Friday asserted that fixing the number of parliamentary seats is not the responsibility of the government, but that of the Delimitation Commission, amid the ongoing political debate over the proposed delimitation exercise. His remarks came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah sought to address concerns regarding delimitation and its potential impact on the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha.
Shah said: "A narrative is being created and confusion is being spread that these three bills, the Constitutional Amendment Bill and the two related laws on delimitation and changes in election procedures, will reduce the representation of southern states in the Lok Sabha and cause them significant loss."
Providing an example, he had said that Karnataka currently has 28 seats in the Lok Sabha, which accounts for about 5.15 per cent of the total 543 seats. He stated that after delimitation, the number of seats allocated to the state could increase to 42.
In response, Tewari, speaking to IANS, noted that "first of all, it is not the job of the government to fix the number of seats. That has to be done by the Delimitation Commission. The government can only specify an upper and a lower ceiling.” He further explained that under the proposed 131st Constitutional Amendment Bill, the upper ceiling has been set at 850 seats.
"It is now for the Delimitation Commission to decide, based upon the 2011 census, that is India's population of 1.21 crores divided by 850 or 815, as to how many seats will go to each state. That is the formula. This is not in the bill. What the Home Minister is saying is nowhere in the bill," he said.
Tewari further alleged that the government was "being economical with the truth". "Ultimately, the government is being economical with the truth. The core issue lies with Article 82 (1A) of the Constitution, which serves as the foundational formula of Indian democracy: 'One Person, One Vote, One Value.'
As a consequence of this formula, states with higher Total Fertility Rates (TFR) will inevitably gain more seats. Conversely, states that successfully adhered to population control measures stand to lose representation. The challenge, therefore, is how to uphold the mandate of Article 82 (1A) while simultaneously balancing federal aspirations," he said.
He described this as the central issue in the delimitation process, adding: "Unfortunately, either the government does not understand this or does not want to understand it for certain motives." Tewari also criticised the government’s approach, alleging that it was attempting to "hijack the delimitation process under the subterfuge of the Women’s Reservation Bill", which he warned could have serious implications.
"They have already passed the Women’s Reservation Bill in 2023 and are notifying it 30 months later. This itself reflects their intent. The sequence suggests that women’s reservation will be implemented alongside delimitation, followed by the adjustment of constituencies. That is why the Opposition is raising concerns," he said.