Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene an all-party meeting at the earliest to build consensus on women’s reservation, delimitation and the proposed increase in Lok Sabha seats, stressing the need for clarity and broad consultation.“Bharat’s strength lies in its unity amidst diversity. I am hopeful that, as a country, our legislative platforms and democratic forces can arrive at a framework that is fair, balanced and reflective of the aspirations of all regions of our country,” Revanth said in his letter to the PM on Tuesday.He said confusion is being created by projecting the three issues as interlinked, while they are, in fact, distinct. On the women’s reservation bill, he reiterated that the Congress fully supports its immediate implementation in the Lok Sabha with the current 543 seats, and in state assemblies. “Political empowerment of women is not merely a legislative reform but a moral imperative of our polity,” he said. Fraught with dangerOn delimitation, the CM noted that past exercises were conducted without altering the total number of seats, and a similar approach can be adopted now. However, he flagged the proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats to 850 on a pro-rata basis as the core concern. “We totally support reservation of 33% seats for women, and will also support delimitation without increasing the number of seats. The proposal to increase in Lok Sabha seats on either population or pro-rata model is not acceptable to many states…,” he said, warning it is “fraught with dangers for the country.” He cautioned that a pro-rata increase, without factoring in economic contribution and human development outcomes, would distort the federal balance and weaken fair regional representation. Revanth pointed out that southern states such as Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry, which invested in population stabilisation and human development, now risk being structurally disadvantaged. He warned that such a shift would erode their voice in Parliament while benefiting states with higher population growth. Fiscal imbalanceThe CM also raised concerns over fiscal imbalance, stating that Telangana receives less than its contribution compared to states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. He cautioned that the proposed changes would add ‘political injustice’ to existing financial and policy disparities. Stressing that any unilateral move would trigger widespread resistance, he called for a just and sustainable solution. As an alternative, he suggested the hybrid model balancing representation and contribution, drawing on the Supreme Court’s principle of balancing competing considerations.
