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Owaisi Warns Bills Will Weaken Opposition, South

During the special session of Parliament on Thursday, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi stood in strong opposition to the introduction of the Women's Reservation Bill and Delimitation Bill, saying that "if these bills become law, the opposition's voice will be reduced to nothing in this House."

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"If these three bills become law, the opposition's voice will be reduced to nothing in this House. If you read this Constitution Amendment Bill along with the Delimitation Bill, seats will be allocated based on population. Those with larger populations will receive more seats, those with smaller populations will receive fewer. Delimitation will not happen every 10 years. It will not be based on the census. Rather, the government will decide whether or not delimitation will happen... The reality will be that the north will rule over the south, the north will spend, and the south will provide. The southern states account for 30 per cent of the country's GDP, and 21 per cent of the country's tax revenue comes from the south... The south is being punished for good governance...," AIMIM chief said in the Lok Sabha.

Details of the Bills and Proposed Changes

The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and The Delimitation Bill, 2026 were introduced and taken up for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day. The government intends to raise the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 from 543.

The Delimitation Bill provides for the readjustment of the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States and Union territories, the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and Union territories having a Legislative Assembly, the division of each State and each Union territory having a Legislative Assembly into territorial constituencies for elections to the House of the People and Legislative Assemblies of the States and Union territories.

Home Minister Amit Shah Reassures Southern States

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Delimitation Bill, 2026, will not harm the southern states but will, in fact, benefit them. He stated that under the 50% increase model, the current 543 seats in the Lok Sabha will rise to 816, leading to an increase in the number of seats for all southern states.

Projected Seat Share for Southern States

Union Home Minister added that the existing 129 seats of the southern states in the Lok Sabha will increase to 195, and their share in the total seats of the House will remain almost the same at around 24 per cent.

Amit Shah said that in the present House of 543 members, Karnataka currently has 28 members, which is about 5.15 per cent of the total. After the passage of the proposed bills and the constitutional amendment, the number of seats for Karnataka will increase from 28 to 42. In that case, in a Lok Sabha of 816 members, Karnataka's representation will remain around 5.14 per cent; therefore, Karnataka will not suffer any loss.

He also said Telangana has 17 seats, which is 3.13 per cent, and after the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will increase from 17 to 26, which will be 3.18 per cent.

"Tamil Nadu has 49 seats, which is 7.18 per cent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will be 59, and their percentage in the new House of 816 will be 7.23 per cent. Tamil Nadu will also suffer no loss. Keralam has 20 seats, which is 3.68 per cent. After the passage of the bill, the number of MPs will be 30, and their percentage in the new House will be 3.67 per cent," he assured.

(ANI)