Bengaluru, 15 April

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said the proposed delimitation exercise based on the pre-2026 Census will reduce the voice of Southern states.  He said on X on Wednesday that the Congress party and its allies would not allow the Centre to “politically marginalise” the South.

Shivakumar said the Centre is attempting a political re-engineering.

"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he wrote.

Congress supports Women's Reservation 

Shivakumar made it clear that his party is not against Women's Reservation in the legislature, but the Centre should not hide behind it and carry out their suspicious and "deeply unfair political agenda".

“Congress fully supports Women's Reservation. In fact, it was (Congress leader) Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda. We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion,” he wrote.

“I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deeply unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable. India's strength lies in balance, not in domination," he added.