Hyderabad, Apr 18: Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Saturday alleged that the Congress and the INDIA bloc have committed a “historic betrayal” of the South as they “killed” the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill which was meant to protect the southern states when the Article 81 freeze on proportion of seats ends after the Census post-2026.
The Congress and its INDIA bloc shouted “South Pride” outside, but inside Parliament they killed the Bill, Sanjay Kumar, Union Minister of State for Home said.
“Understand the danger. Once the freeze ends, seat redistribution can happen on population basis. States that controlled population, invested in education, and delivered development can be pushed back politically. That means Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other performing states face the risk of losing voice in Delhi,” he said in a post on ‘X’.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during his speech in parliament on Friday, even offered to amend the delimitation bill for 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats, but the opposition was silent. Shah repeatedly assured that South seats will increase, he said.
“But Congress and its allies chose politics over people. They did not just block a bill. They blocked protection for the South. They blocked justice for women. They blocked fair representation for future generations. And now they speak of South sentiment. The people can see the hypocrisy,” Kumar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands for protecting every region, but the opposition stood only for power, he said.
In a major setback to the union government, the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures by 2029 and to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats to 816 was defeated in the Lower House on Friday.
