CM Vijay Urges PM Modi to Freeze Lok Sabha Strength at 543 and Halt Delimitation

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai, urging the Union Government to introduce necessary Constitutional amendments to stop the proposed delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies across the country.

In a letter sent on Thursday, Vijay forwarded a copy of the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, August 12, requesting the Prime Minister to consider its demands. The resolution calls for the total strength of the Lok Sabha to be permanently fixed at 543 members and for the existing allocation of seats to individual States to remain unchanged.

The State Assembly also urged the Union Government to implement a one-third (33%) reservation for women in the upcoming Lok Sabha general elections and subsequent Assembly elections, while maintaining the current distribution of seats among States.

Vijay stated that the Assembly resolution was passed in light of proposed constitutional amendments concerning delimitation and the reallocation of Lok Sabha seats based on population figures. He pointed out that Assembly deliberations raised concerns that Southern States could lose significant Parliamentary representation following the Population Census Operation if Article 81(2)(a) is not applied, recalling that Tamil Nadu's representation dropped from 41 to 39 seats in 1967.

The Chief Minister emphasized that any delimitation based on post-1971 population data altering current seat strengths would cause lasting injustice to Southern States that successfully executed population control programmes, achieved economic growth, and established effective healthcare and welfare schemes.

He urged the Union Government to enact Constitutional amendments to permanently freeze Lok Sabha strength, safeguard existing representation, and enforce the 33% women's quota starting from the next Parliamentary election on the basis of the current 543 seats.