Proposing one of the most radical solutions to the delimitation dilemma, which has started to rumble and roil the country’s politics, the National Convener of the Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, Yogendra Yadav has suggested that delimitation should be altogether scrapped forever.
Yadav has called for “a permanent freeze on the reallocation of parliamentary seats”. The alternative is to put at risk the very unity and future of India as a country.
In a 24-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Yadav explained how he views delimitation. He sees it as a potential faultline which can exacerbate three other fault lines that divide India – cultural, economic and political – and thus undermine national unity.
Yadav also addressed one of the key concerns that would arise if the present parliamentary seat allocation is frozen forever. At the moment, an MP in Kerala represents 18 lakh people but in Madhya Pradesh an MP represents 33 lakh people, almost 100% more. Won’t freezing this situation forever make a mockery of the principle of one person, one vote, one value?
He presented two further arguments to support his suggestion that delimitation should be scrapped altogether and forever. The first is to do with what he considers two fundamental principles of the Indian Union, the spirit of non-dominance and the idea of unity in diversity. The second is derived from the way and the basis on which federal resources are divided amongst the states i.e. not on the basis of their tax contribution but on other grounds of fairness and equity.
