Rahul Gandhi slams 'anti-national' Lok Sabha seat hike as 'power grab'

Rahul Gandhi slammed the Centre's proposal to hike Lok Sabha seats to 850 via a Constitution Amendment. He termed it an 'anti-national' power grab to steal representation from OBC, Dalit, and Adivasi communities, demanding a caste census.

As the Centre proposes a Constitution Amendment to increase Lok Sabha Seats to 850 and allow delimitation based on the pre-2026 Census, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Congress will not allow the government to steal the share of representation of Other Backward Class (OBCs), Dalit and Adivasi communities calling it an "anti-national" move by the NDA.

Congress Slams Move as 'Anti-National Power Grab'

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said his Congress unequivocally supports Women's Reservation, but the government must do delimitation only based on the 2026 Census, which is currently underway, adding that the Caste census must also be taken into consideration before bringing any such legislation.

"What the government is proposing now has nothing to do with women's reservation. This amendment is an attempted power grab using delimitation and gerrymandering. We will not allow 'Hissa Chori' from OBC, Dalit and Adivasi communities by ignoring the caste census data. We will also not allow Southern, North Eastern, North Western and smaller states to be treated unfairly," he said.

"PM Modi, RSS is afraid of the caste census," Gandhi said while claiming that the BJP does not want backward communities to get a fair share of representation.

Rahul Gandhi said that if the government is serious about women's reservation in the legislature, then it must implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which was already passed in 2023 in the Parliament. "This is an anti-national activity, PM Modi is lying and trying to steal a share of backward communities. PM Modi wants delimitation as per his whims, which we won't allow, he said.

Government's Proposal and Delimitation Link

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which provides for 33 per cent reservation for women legislators, is linked to the delimitation process in the Lok Sabha. The government is planning to implement the women's reservation ahead of the 2029 General Elections by bringing in an amendment to the 2023 Act and a constitutional amendment to delink the delimitation process from the 2027 census.

According to sources, the government has proposed to increase the number of seats in the House to 850, with 815 seats proposed for the States and the remaining 35 for the Union Territories. The Lok Sabha has 543 seats at present. (ANI)

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