Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday passed a special resolution moved by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay urging the Centre to permanently freeze the strength of the Lok Sabha at 543 and protect the existing distribution of parliamentary seats among states amid concerns over a future delimitation exercise.
Moving the resolution, CM Vijay said the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats allotted to states and union territories had remained protected from population-based redistribution for decades, with the 1971 Census forming the basis for the long-standing freeze.
The Chief Minister referred to a constitutional amendment bill that was defeated in Parliament in April 2026. The proposed legislation sought to remove the restrictions on delimitation, redraw constituencies on the basis of the 2011 Census and substantially increase the strength of the Lok Sabha.
CM Vijay said reports that a similar proposal could be brought before Parliament again had renewed concerns in Tamil Nadu. Any redistribution of parliamentary seats based on a Census conducted after 1971 could adversely affect Tamil Nadu and other southern states that had successfully controlled population growth, he said.
The Chief Minister argued that states which effectively implemented population-control programmes promoted by the Union government should not be penalised by losing their relative representation in Parliament.
States that had achieved stronger economic growth and improved healthcare and public welfare indicators also deserved protection during any future delimitation exercise, he said.
The resolution urged the Centre to permanently retain the total strength of the Lok Sabha at 543 and freeze the existing inter-state allocation of parliamentary constituencies, thereby protecting the proportional representation currently enjoyed by individual states.
It also called for maintaining the existing 2.2:1 ratio between the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Another major component of the resolution was the demand to implement 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha from the 2029 general election, based on the existing 543 constituencies.
The House also sought implementation of the quota in subsequent state Assembly elections without further delay.
During the debate, the DMK, CPI(M), CPI, VCK, IUML and other parties extended support to the government’s resolution, although differences emerged over some of its provisions.
The BJP, AIADMK and PMK opposed parts of the resolution, while the BJP, AIADMK and DMK backed the provision seeking early implementation of women’s reservation.
After the party-wise debate concluded, the resolution was put to a voice vote. Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar declared that the special resolution moved by the Vijay government was adopted by the Assembly.
(IANS)
