Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao, known as KTR, has voiced strong support for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s opposition to the proposed delimitation exercise based on population. KTR asserted that the Union government should not penalise southern states for effectively implementing family planning policies.
On Wednesday, February 26, KTR wrote, “I totally agree with Thiru Stalin and strongly support him on this. You cannot penalize the southern states for religiously implementing family planning when the nation needed it the most.”
Delimitation refers to the process of revising the number of parliamentary constituencies in proportion to the population of each state. Currently, the Lok Sabha’s composition is based on the 1971 census, as a constitutional amendment during the Emergency froze any revisions until after the 2001 census. This freeze was later extended until 2026 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
KTR proposed that the Union government should instead implement delimitation based on the fiscal contributions of states.
“None can ignore the contributions of Telangana and southern states towards nation-building. As a case in point, while Telangana constitutes only 2.8% of the country’s population, it contributes to more than 5.2% of the nation’s GDP,” he pointed out.
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin has taken proactive steps to oppose the proposed delimitation exercise, including convening an all-party meeting on March 5 to discuss and strategise against it.
Calling for a fair delimitation, Stalin remarked that the process would not only affect Tamil Nadu but all of south India. “A democratic process should not penalise states that have successfully managed population growth, led in development, and made significant contributions to national progress. We need a fair, transparent, and equitable approach that upholds true federalism,” he said.