Chandigarh: Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Saturday sought the all-party consensus in Punjab over the proposed delimitation of the parliamentary constituencies across the country.In a statement, Warring said the Govt of India convened a special session of Parliament on April 16, 17 and 18. He said, while the official agenda was to amend the Reservation of Women Bill, there were reports that the govt might also pass the bill for delimitation of the assembly and parliamentary constituencies across the country.The Ludhiana MP said Punjab, like many other states, would be at a great disadvantage. He said that while the populous states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar would stand to gain substantially, Punjab would be at an overall disadvantage.Warring disclosed that according to the reported proposals, the Govt of India planned to increase the number of seats by 50% for both Parliament and the assemblies.He said that while in the case of the state assemblies, it would not make any difference, for Parliament, smaller states like Punjab would be at a great disadvantage. According to the reported proposals, Punjab’s strength of MPs will go to 20, while that of Uttar Pradesh will go to 120. This, Warring pointed out, will give a great advantage to states like UP in Parliament.The PCC chief warned this could have far-reaching consequences for the state. “When we do not have any effective parliamentary strength, we will definitely stand to lose,” he said, while urging all the parties in Punjab to come together and form a strategy to jointly oppose any such move.MSID:: 130019995 413 |
