- 15 hours ago
The move has sparked significant outrage among political parties in southern states, particularly in Tamil Nadu. Regional leaders argue that the delimitation process unfairly penalises southern states for successfully controlling their population growth, while northern states stand to gain a substantial increase in parliamentary representation.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:01Hello and welcome, Vanakkam, you're joining us live here on Super 6.
00:04I'm Akshita Nanda Koppal, joining you this evening from Karoor in Tamil Nadu.
00:08We'll be getting you a ground report very soon from Karoor,
00:11the site where six months ago there was a stampede during a Vijay rally.
00:15But before that, a look at what you can expect over the next one hour here on Super 6.
00:19We'll be focusing on the delimitation showdown as a result of the special session
00:23that's been called for Women's Reservation.
00:25But also coming up on the show at 6.30pm is my special ground report
00:29from Konganadu, from Avinashie, where you're seeing a very interesting battle
00:33between a union minister, El Murugan, and two political newbies,
00:36two 28-year-old women taking on the union minister.
00:40I'll get you that ground report at 6.30 this evening.
00:42We begin with the headlines.
00:51As talks fail, Trump to block Iranian ports,
00:54U.S. forces to block Iran ports from 7.30pm today.
00:57Trump says port block it to stop Iran oil sale claims Iran is in very bad shape.
01:09After talks fail, Israel planning for return to war,
01:12Trump mull strikes on Iran.
01:14Israel media says Israel gearing up for renewed conflict with Iran.
01:23Prime Minister Modi's big Nadi Shakti outreach,
01:26growing role of women in developments,
01:27his efforts aimed at empowering women,
01:29big outreach to opposition on women quotas.
01:32His opposition made efforts to empower women as well.
01:59Maamata challenger from Babanipur Shuvendu exclusive on India Today.
02:04Five years ago, he defeated Maamata in Nandigram.
02:08Shuvendu once again confident of victory on Maamata's turf.
02:27Noida workers' unrest turns violent, arson, vandalism on streets of Noida.
02:32Angry workers hit the streets seeking a rise in wages,
02:36crowdstorms offices and vandalises property.
02:44It's the end of an era, but the legacy lives on.
02:48Asha Bosley passes away in 92.
02:50Last riots held with state honours at Shivaji Park Crematorium.
03:06From 543 seats in the Lok Sabha to 816.
03:10In a few days from now,
03:12one of the discussions that will be brought up in the Lok Sabha is about that.
03:15It's about delimitation and increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats by nearly 50%.
03:21Delimitation has always been a big bone of contention when it comes to southern India,
03:25with many states saying that it's dangerous and that it will lead to misrepresentation of the people.
03:30Especially here where I am in pole-bound Tamil Nadu,
03:33delimitation is a big talking point and a big showdown.
03:37Now, the fact that the government is planning to do this based on data from the previous census,
03:40from the 2011 census,
03:42instead of the next census based on whenever it happens,
03:45has triggered a big war of words and it's led to a showdown before the special session in parliament.
03:51Why are the southern states, politicians from these states up in arms?
03:55We'll break that down first in our detailed report.
04:01Southern states are growing increasingly apprehensive over the upcoming delimitation exercise.
04:07Leaders from south fear the states which controlled population growth could lose political representation.
04:14Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and the ruling DMK have strongly opposed any move
04:20that could reduce the south's voice in parliament, saying it is a sword over Tamil Nadu's head.
04:27The Congress leadership including Sonia Gandhi has echoed similar concerns, calling for safeguards to protect southern states.
04:36Basin delimitation on the 2011 census is undemocratic, it's flawed,
04:41and it's a direct attack on the federal structure of this country.
04:44Why are you punishing states that have higher HDI indices,
04:48that have kept their population in control,
04:51that have increased their sources of revenue,
04:53that have kept a check on their expenditure?
04:55Why should you create this north-south divide?
04:57This is being done because you want to push through a flawed delimitation.
05:01Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the exercise is aimed at fast-tracking women's reservation,
05:07calling it a landmark step for women-led development.
05:12I tell you,
05:16every bond has done this idea of right.
05:22They have improved according to their people in life and police,
05:23In 2023 when the union came back to the sacred power of the body,
05:38Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has defended the process, assuring that southern
05:43states will not miss out and that fairness will be ensured.
05:48The centre allied feats and maintained that delimitation will be carried out in a balanced
05:54manner, keeping national unity in mind.
06:18But for now, the political divide remains sharp, with the South seeking reassurance and the
06:25centre urging trust.
06:26Bureau Report, India Today.
06:31So if delimitation actually takes place in the sense that if it is approved in the Lok Sabha,
06:36for which remember that the government will need to have the opposition on board because
06:40it needs two-thirds support, this is a constitutional amendment, what really will the delimitation
06:44look like?
06:45Why is it that southern states are wary?
06:47Let me just break it down for you.
06:49Essentially, delimitation is based on population size.
06:51So each of the states that has a large chunk of population will see a rise in the number
06:55of seats, Lok Sabha seats that they have.
06:57We have a list for you.
06:59Uttar Pradesh, for example, at 80 seats currently will jump right up to 120.
07:03So they gain 40 seats.
07:04As far as Maharashtra goes, they gain 24 seats.
07:08From 48, it will go up to 72.
07:10Mind you, this is what government sources tell us based on the 2011 census data.
07:15West Bengal will gain 21 seats.
07:17So from current 42, they go up to 63.
07:20Bihar will go up from 40 to 60.
07:22Now here are the states where there's been a bit of controversy.
07:24Tamil Nadu, for example, currently has 39 seats that goes up according to government sources
07:29to 59.
07:30They gain 20 seats.
07:32Karnataka gains 14, which means from 28, they go up to 42.
07:35Rajasthan 25 to 38.
07:38Andhra Pradesh from 25 to 38.
07:40Now Kerala will remain more or less the same.
07:42And so this is led to a controversy.
07:43Why?
07:44If you look at the numbers, yes, Tamil Nadu is gaining 20 seats.
07:47So then why are politicians up in arms?
07:49Because of the fact that you see in Uttar Pradesh have won 20 seats in the Lok Sabha.
07:53So the Tamil Nadu representatives in the opposition, essentially the DMK suggests,
07:58as well as the Congress, suggest that this will be unfair representation.
08:02That states like Tamil Nadu for better education and so for controlling their fertility rate
08:06is being punished.
08:08This is what has led to that controversy.
08:11And that's why you've got the likes of even Sonia Gandhi right now saying
08:14that while women's reservation is something the Congress does back, delimitation is not.
08:19And because when this was first proposed,
08:21the talk of delimitation was based on the next census.
08:24Now, however, the delimitation of increasing the Lok Sabha seats by 50% is based on the 2011 census data.
08:32Let's also now bring in our reporters on this broadcast.
08:36We've got with us from, we've got with us our reporters from Chennai.
08:42We've got Pramod Madhav live with us for more details.
08:45And Piyush Mishra from Delhi.
08:47Piyush, I'm going to come across to you first.
08:49You know, with all of this controversy playing out right now and the opposition making it very clear
08:53that delimitation and the exercise as it currently stands is not something they're okay with.
08:57How does the government plan to get the necessary numbers?
09:00Because this needs two-thirds support.
09:04Well, no doubt, Ashita, that this needs some massive support,
09:07especially from the opposition political parties.
09:09And sources within the government have confirmed to us that, yes,
09:12they have been able to reach out on a consensus with most of the political parties.
09:16But there are some parties like, especially DMK and Congress, they are raising some concerns.
09:22And the government sources are telling us that very soon all their concerns will also be addressed.
09:27But today we also saw as to her.
09:29Kone Gandhi wrote a letter where she mentioned about the fact that why government is so much in hurry.
09:34She is also saying that the main intention of government is not to implement Women's Reservation Bill,
09:40but to bring up delimitation, to which we also spoke to Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Anpuna Devi.
09:47She is now telling us that the entire excitement is taking place because the government's intention is to implement
09:55a Women's Reservation Bill as soon as possible and to ensure that the Lok Sabha elections of 2029
10:01happens on the increased number of seats, happens on the current consensus of 2011.
10:08Now we'll have to see as to how the government is further going to ally the fears of these political
10:13parties.
10:14Remember that a special session has been convened on 16th of April.
10:18Before that, we're expecting an all-party meeting.
10:20Most likely, the government will reach on consensus and will ensure that this bill gets passed from both the houses.
10:28There's already been an outrage in the sense that you had the Prime Minister earlier today
10:32saying that the opposition has also worked towards women empowerment.
10:35Why are the two linked? Because for women's reservation to happen, you need more seats.
10:40The 273 additional seats with delimitation, that will be reserved for women.
10:44And that's why delimitation of women's reservation is linked right now.
10:48I'll bring in Pramod Madhav to understand what the politics in Tamil Nadu looks like.
10:52Pramod, at a time when you've got elections just around the corner,
10:55you know, the BJP is on an overdrive trying to spell out that this doesn't dent Tamil Nadu or their
11:00representation in Parliament.
11:02So why is it that the DMK and Congress are up in arms from Earth?
11:05Because ultimately what the BJP keeps highlighting is that from 39, they're going up to 59.
11:10So there is greater representation of Tamil Nadu too.
11:15Well, Akshita, the important aspect here is exactly the first question that's being put forward by the Chief Minister of
11:19Mk Stalin
11:19is that why in such a hurry it's being done, especially when the state is going to face the elections
11:23on 23rd of April.
11:24And the second important aspect is that it is not about DMK government or anyone from Tamil Nadu actually opposing
11:31the women's reservation,
11:31but it's about the delimitation because just like you earlier mentioned, this is a kind of like a larger fear
11:36that in the future
11:37there are high chances of the southern states completely losing their voice when it comes to raising any kind of
11:42issues in the Parliament
11:43because the Chief Minister very clearly mentions that this would actually only mean that the majority would be entirely in
11:49the North
11:49and the southern states would not have any say in any kind of law that is going to be passed
11:53in the Parliament
11:54and that is why DMK is completely opposing it.
11:57The important aspect here is that the Chief Minister wants the status quo to be maintained
12:01because he claims either increasing the seats or going ahead and doing a caste census is going to cause a
12:05lot of issues
12:06because he says repeatedly that since they were following the population control,
12:10now it has become a disaster for the state of Tamil Nadu and other states in the southern part, especially
12:15Akshita.
12:20Alright, Pramodh getting us all of those details, thanks very much Pramodh and thanks Piyush for joining us with those
12:25updates.
12:26In just about two days from now, Thursday, is when in fact you'll see that special session kicking off
12:31and then for three days in Parliament there's going to be a special discussion.
12:34There's also of course a controversy over the timing with several leaders from Tamil Nadu highlighting that,
12:41look it's election season, why are you having it bang in the middle of election season
12:44and that this is an attempt to stop the campaign by DMK and Congress.
12:48But that's another controversy altogether that's playing out over the special session in Parliament.
12:54It's expected that all the members of Parliament will ultimately be there
12:58considering it's such a crucial issue of both delimitation as well as women's reservation.
13:02We will continue tracking all the reactions that come in particularly from the poll-bound state of Tamil Nadu
13:07where this has become a huge, huge controversy.
13:10Let's cut across now to another newsprint coming in from Tamil Nadu.
13:20Now in the war of words between Chief Minister Stalin and Edapadi Paradiswamy,
13:25particularly with Stalin accusing EPS of firing personal barbs at him and his sister Kanimuri,
13:30EPS now in a rally in Trichy has responded saying that there's absolutely no personal barbs,
13:36that I've only criticised their mistakes as an opposition leader defending himself.
13:41EPS has said that if you try to take it personal, then it will become ten times more personal on
13:47our part,
13:49suggesting that the AIA-DMK carder will take things to a personal level if the DMK first does so.
13:56So essentially the war of words continuing where EPS suggests that it is this DMK that it is Stalin who
14:02started off the personal barbs.
14:03But at the same time remember that Chief Minister Stalin has been accusing EPS of not just firing personal attacks
14:09against him,
14:10but also against his sister Kanimuri to which EPS said that all of his criticisms,
14:15all of his attacks were only positioned as a person who is a leader of opposition and none of them
14:22were personal jibes.
14:24The back and forth between Stalin and EPS clearly continuing and this is in the heat of the election,
14:29where now you've got the two faces of both the alliances fighting it off, squaring off in every single rally
14:36that they addressed.
14:37What is this controversy about?
14:38The reason Stalin actually attacked EPS was because of comments that EPS had made previously,
14:44where in fact he said that if Corona had happened when Stalin was the Chief Minister,
14:48maybe Stalin himself wouldn't have survived.
14:49Then a comment about Kanimuri saying that she was not given any responsibility and being sidelined.
14:55Those two comments is what Stalin took offence to.
14:57Listen in to what Eda Padipani Swami has said now.
15:01He points up towards Stalin.
15:09You ruined it Force.
15:13You вариант usually on the strategy in the last...
15:19There you go from Stalin and a proven Constitution of Stalin.
15:20It means we have power almost…
15:21This is first reaction…
15:22…IV thanks to Stalin, Stalin who drank the passion.
15:23You plutious for money…
15:24I think you eat it.
15:25But the politicians, the politicians
15:27you regard every like soul…
15:27Human citizens imp zast.
15:58So that is the political showdown that's playing out right now between EPS and NK Style.
16:05And we'll continue getting you all of those updates with just about a week to go for elections in Tamil
16:10Nadu.
16:11Things are clearly heating up.
16:12This is the last leg and the most crucial leg in election season in Tamil Nadu.
16:16Because the next one week of campaigns, rallies is what's going to essentially seal the deal for whichever side ultimately
16:22is chosen by the voter.
16:24You can trust us here on India Today to get you all of those updates.
Comments