Dakshin Dialogues panellists call for public debate on delimitation, more South Indian representation in Rajya Sabha

He argued that the North might get more Lok Sabha seats while the South would possibly lose a few of the existing ones.

Related: Can’t have a political marginalisation of the South, says Rajeev Gowda

Call to model Rajya Sabha on US Senate

Gowda suggested that the Rajya Sabha could be modelled on the concept of the Senate in the US. He said he found justification that performing states should hand-hold those lagging, but performance should not lead to disincentives.

Karnataka Planning Board VC Prof MV Rajeev Gowda speaks during Dakshin Dialogues 2023 in Bengaluru on Saturday, 7 October, 2023. (South First)

The Lok Sabha could continue to represent population trends but to offset the injustice to the South, a Rajya Sabha with financial powers with more representation from the South should be in place.

He, however, said that one should be wary of the purpose of the delimitation exercise as it might cause political marginalisation of the South. He recalled growing up with the notion that no South Indian could become the prime minister, though PV Narasimha Rao and HD Deve Gowda later occupied the high office.

Gowda added that the danger of political power concentrating in the hands of the North was very much alive now.

He said there was a need to engage the people in discussions on the delimitation exercise. “The last delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam seemed to have a political agenda to marginalise the minorities. This is not the way to go about delimitation,” he opined.

Gowda, however, said the government seemed to be exploring other criteria and not just population alone for the delimitation of Parliament seats. The prime minister criticised Rahul Gandhi for accusing the BJP of trying to reward the states with a higher population. It gave a hint that the ruling dispensation was talking about other criteria too.

“The entire nation should have an engagement in the exercise. The BJP cannot spring a surprise on delimitation without keeping the people informed of its line of thought,” he said.

Related: Population won’t be only criteria for delimitation, says Khushbu

‘Delimitation not based on just population’

BJP national executive member Khushbu Sundar, defending the delimitation exercise, said that the people as one nation have to move forward. She said she failed to understand why anyone should be worried about delimitation.

BJP national executive member Khushbu Sundar attends a panel discussion on delimitation during Dakshin Dialogues 2023 in Bengaluru on Saturday, 7 October, 2023. (South First)

The performing states would not be punished, she insisted while supporting delimitation. “The prime minister is already working on other issues that should be kept in mind while deciding on the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies. It would not be based on population alone,” she said.

She took a swipe at the Congress for trying to target the government when the latter did not speak the language that the party wanted to hear.

“When we have to take a giant step, we have to take one step backwards. The prime minister has a long-term vision. Delimitation has to move forward. We need to change and bring in new laws. We have to stand together,” she said.

Related: Tharoor urges new southern consciousness to soothe delimitation fears

Centre usurping states’ powers

CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas lashed out at the BJP government at the Centre for dividing the country into ED (Enforcement Directorate)-affected and ED-unaffected. He said that no one could trust the BJP.

CPI(M)’s Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas at Dakshin Dialogues conclave in Bengaluru on Saturday, 7 October. (South First)

“How can we trust you? Can you ever imagine Parliament’s agenda being finalised in a secretive manner? Do we have to go to the Parliament House to know the supplementary agenda? Is opposition Pakistan to you,” he asked.

Brittas said that in one year the present government collected ₹7 lakh crore as surcharge which need not be returned to the states. Then, the prime minister declared ₹15,000 crore for development works in poll-bound states.

“You have brought in a monarchy. The sengol (golden sceptre) is already in the new Parliament building. There are already clowns and astrologers in there,” he said.

He said he had a reason to suspect foul play in the government’s functioning. It usurped the powers of the state. The Centre took over state subjects. In four hours, public health was taken away from the state and it led to the deaths of people on the roads during Covid-19.

Brittas said that the Centre’s policy towards states, strangely, was to perform and perish. It was implemented in the form of the delimitation exercise. Earlier the axiom used to be ‘perform and excel’. Not anymore, he said, adding that some sitting in Delhi could convert a state into a Union Territory overnight.

Related: Karnataka model of development is inclusive, empowering: CM

‘Constitution should be periodically reviewed’

Former judge of the Supreme Court Justice (Retd) Jasti Chelameswar said that many decisions the political class took were based on the kind of backlash they had received. Establishing his point he explained how the central government rode roughshod over the decision of the Supreme Court not to allow the use of Hindi in two North Indian High Courts.

Supreme Court Judge Justice (Retd) Jasti Chelameswar with Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor at Dakshin Dialogues conclave in Bengaluru on Saturday, 7 October. (South First)

But when a similar request came to the Centre seeking permission to use local languages in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court did not give its consent and the Center deferred a decision. That is because at that time neither Gujarat nor Tamil Nadu posed any political problem to the Centre. He recalled writing to the Chief Justice to give consent to the Centre but he did not.

“I batted for the use of local languages in the two high courts in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat though I do not hail from either state,” he said.

Justice Chelameswar held the view that the Constitution need not be so sacrosanct that it cannot be amended though it should be respected since it is a legal document framed by people of great wisdom. There has been a lengthy debate as to whether the Constitution could be amended by Parliament and finally, the Supreme Court said that it could be amended by Parliament without disturbing its basic structure though there is no definition of basic structure.

Justice Chelameswar called for a periodical relook of the Constitution since what was appropriate and sound at one point in time may be totally out of place after the passage of a considerable period. He further called for a debate on whether a performing state should be penalised while allocating funds.

The session also witnessed a heated debate between Khushbu and Brittas.

Related: South India’s sharpest minds come together in Bengaluru

Dakshin Dialogues

Dakshin Dialogues is South First‘s annual thought conclave that brings together South India’s biggest political and judicial minds, and social activists, on one stage.

While federalism was the primary theme of last year’s event, it is the core of each session this year, too, as South First continues to focus on the other half of the India story.

Dakshin Dialogues 2023 is seeing the likes of Vidadala Rajini, Khushbu Sundar, Shashi Tharoor, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Dinesh Gundu Rao, and many others, discussing delimitation, the Southern model of governance, and much more. Let the dialogues begin!

Watch the event live here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI7PiM5KFJI