A delimitation train proposed by the Centre on the premise of inhabitants numbers from a present census will quantity to a “political assault on the southern states” and endanger the “way forward for federalism”, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D Okay Shivakumar stated on Saturday. Shivakumar was talking at a Joint Motion Committee (JAC) assembly of states known as by Tamil Nadu CM M Okay Stalin in Chennai to oppose the proposed delimitation train.
Shivakumar, who attended the assembly on behalf of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who has been affected by a knee harm, stated that the southern states had succeeded in controlling inhabitants progress, enhancing literacy, and empowering girls however the Centre’s plans to scale back parliamentary illustration would silence the voice of the south within the nationwide discourse.
“This isn’t simply unfair—it’s a betrayal of the constitutional promise that improvement and good governance must be rewarded, not penalised,” Shivakumar stated. “The delimitation train isn’t just about parliamentary seats; it’s about the way forward for federalism in India. If the Centre proceeds with this unjust formulation, it is going to alter the federal steadiness, giving disproportionate energy to states which have failed to regulate inhabitants progress. This is not going to solely marginalise the southern states but in addition undermine the ideas of cooperative federalism enshrined in our Structure,” he added.
The fifteenth Finance Fee has already diminished monetary sources out there to southern states by basing allocations on the 2011 inhabitants census, Shivakumar stated. “The fifteenth Finance Fee’s population-based formulation has already value us dearly. If the delimitation train proceeds as deliberate, our political voice might be additional diminished, and our capability to advocate for our rights in Parliament might be crippled,” he added.
Whereas Karnataka contributes over ₹ 4 lakh crore yearly to the Centre’s Gross Tax Income, solely ₹ 45,000 crore in tax devolution and Rs 15,000 crore in grants are obtained in return, he stated. “For each rupee Karnataka contributes, solely 13 paise comes again to us. This isn’t simply financial injustice, it’s a systemic plunder of our sources,” Shivakumar claimed.
The Karnataka deputy chief minister additionally questioned the efforts of the Centre to impose its ‘One Nation, One Language’ coverage within the southern states the place there may be variety of language and tradition. “The relentless push for ‘One Nation, One Language’ seeks to erase this variety,” he stated.
“From railway signboards to aggressive exams, the imposition of Hindi undermines our linguistic and cultural sovereignty. Let me be clear: Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and different regional languages usually are not mere dialects; they’re the lifeblood of our civilizations,” he stated.
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Shivakumar stated that the Centre should think about giving weightage to the efforts of states in controlling inhabitants progress, their tax contributions, and high quality of governance and never simply inhabitants. “Implement a ground restrict on parliamentary seats for states which have successfully managed their inhabitants. It will make sure that their voices usually are not marginalised,” he stated.
The Karnataka deputy chief minister additionally steered growing the illustration of states within the Rajya Sabha, truthful norms for tax devolution and useful resource sharing by way of the sixteenth Finance Fee by contemplating financial efficiency, fiscal self-discipline and governance high quality.
Shivakumar additionally sought the safety of the cultural sovereignty of the southern states by establishing a “Nationwide Language Rights Fee to implement the equality of all scheduled languages” and making the usage of regional languages obligatory in central establishments.
The JAC should evolve right into a “everlasting coalition to coordinate authorized, legislative, and grassroots advocacy” for the states, he stated.
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“To the Union Authorities, we ship this clear message: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and all progressive states is not going to be silenced. We are going to battle within the courts, in Parliament, and on the streets to guard our rights, our sources, and our identification,” he stated.
Earlier, on his arrival in Chennai on Saturday, Shivakumar stated the opposition to the population-based delimitation train by the gathering of representatives of states in Chennai is within the curiosity of the nation and never private.
“In South India, we’ve been following household planning norms as revealed by the census and we’re economically progressive states. Now we have protected the curiosity of the nation and it’s not our curiosity so this shouldn’t be a curse in opposition to us,” Shivakumar stated.
Karnataka Congress’s stand on delimitation
On July 25, 2024, the Congress authorities in Karnataka handed a decision within the state Legislative Meeting to oppose the proposed delimitation of parliamentary and Legislative Meeting constituencies on the premise of a 2026 census, fearing that states which have managed inhabitants progress can be politically disincentivised with decrease illustration in Parliament.
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The federal government decision urged the Centre to find out the overall variety of seats within the technique of redrawing Lok Sabha and Legislative Meeting constituencies in Karnataka on the premise of the 1971 census.
“The constituencies of the Karnataka Legislative Meeting should not be redrawn on the premise of the contemporary census in 2026 or thereafter when they’re redrawn on the premise of inhabitants of every state. This Home urges the Central Authorities to resolve the variety of Lok Sabha seats to be allotted and the overall variety of seats to be allotted to every State Meeting on the premise of the 1971 census,” the decision said.
State Regulation Minister H Okay Patil stated that the decision was vital “to safeguard the pursuits of the state of Karnataka and to forestall injustice to South Indian states”.
The Karnataka authorities has acknowledged that it faces the prospect of fiscal and political losses if the fifteenth Finance Fee and a brand new inhabitants census are used as a yardstick to resolve on fiscal advantages and political illustration for states within the Lok Sabha.
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“We’re additionally involved about what’s going to occur throughout delimitation. The fifteenth Finance Fee allotted with the consensus within the nation that existed from 1971 onwards – the place the Structure was amended by the then Prime Minister Madam Gandhi to make sure that no state is penalized for the demographic progress {that a} state makes,” state Income Minister Krishna Byre Gowda stated at a gathering of finance ministers of Opposition-ruled South Indian states in 2024.
“The seats in Parliament had been frozen (on the premise of the 1971 census). However now we consider that this situation could also be opened up. So if the delimitation occurs as per the upcoming census then it is vitally a lot attainable that every one of us (southern states) will lose our illustration in Parliament,” Byre Gowda stated.
“On one aspect is a graph the place our financial contribution goes up and on the opposite aspect there’s a very particular risk that as our financial contribution will increase our political illustration within the Union could go down,” he stated.
“These problems with federalism, equity and of treating everyone’s points with respect have attained better criticality. What transpires and emerges from the sixteenth Finance Fee may have a bearing on political federalism as properly. This can be a quest for justice that goes on for a number of years if our financial illustration and political illustration must be protected and safeguarded,” Byre Gowda added.