Mumbai, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has expressed concerns over the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, stating that it is being undertaken without a Census and may face strong opposition from southern states.
Raut made these comments while speaking to reporters in New Delhi, where he also expressed support for the Centre's plan to implement the Women's Reservation Act.
The Sena leader noted that Maharashtra was the first state to grant reservations to women in local bodies and that his party has never stood in the way of women's electoral interests.
However, Raut emphasized that the issue of delimitation is contentious and could lead to a serious situation in the country.
He pointed out that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy have already opposed the move, and that a special three-day sitting of Parliament has been convened to discuss amendments to the Women's Reservation Act.
According to the draft Constitution amendment bill, the number of Lok Sabha seats will be increased to up to 850 from the current 543, with seats also being increased in state and Union Territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
Raut expressed concerns that the existing Vidhan Bhavan in Maharashtra does not have the capacity for a larger number of MLAs, and questioned whether this was a ploy to break the state under the pretext that the building cannot accommodate 400 MLAs.
