Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik Saturday said that population should not be the only criterion to determine the number of seats in Parliament and Assemblies and sought a detailed discussion with all parties before the commencement of the delimitation process.
Virtually addressing the first Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting on delimitation convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, he said the BJD would do everything to protect the interests of the people of Odisha.
“Our stand is that population should not be the only criterion to determine the number of seats in the highest representative body of our country,” he said.
Patnaik, a five-time former chief minister of Odisha, said: “I suggest that the Union government should take up a detailed discussion with all parties to remove any doubt on this very important issue that has far-reaching implications for our democracy.”
The BJD has sent two of its leaders to Chennai to attend the meeting, while Patnaik addressed the gathering virtually.
“This is an important meeting to ensure democratic representation and rights of people living in states that have done very well to control and stabilise population,” Patnaik said.
He said population control is an important national agenda for the development of the country.
“This (population control) has been our contribution towards a positive national agenda and building a strong India. Delimitation based only on population figures will be unfair to the states that have worked hard to reduce their population growth rates in line with national priorities,” he said.
Patnaik further pointed out that in case these states had not achieved what they did in stabilising population, India would have had a population explosion today derailing our developmental progress.
He said Odisha has done well, successfully reducing its fertility rates over the years.
“If projected population figures of 2026 are taken, we will end up losing seats in the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly,” Patnaik said, adding that states like Odisha have reduced their population growth rates after years of persistent efforts, and should not be disincentivised, especially as they have performed well on a national priority.
Apart from Odisha, Patnaik said states like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal and Punjab have been very successful in controlling population.
Patnaik has deputed former Odisha minister Sanjay Das Burma and former MP Amar Patnaik to attend the meeting in Chennai.
After attending the meeting, Das Burma said that it was decided in the JAC that a delegation from the eight affected states to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprise him about the concerns.
“It was also decided that the issues relating to delimitation will be discussed in assemblies of the eight states who participated in the JAC,” he said, adding that the group wanted that the states should not lose Lok Sabha and Assembly seats for controlling population as part of the national agenda.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das also participated in the Chennai meeting.
Meanwhile, Odisha BJP vice-president Biranchi Tripathy strongly criticised the BJD for joining hands with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
“Why the BJD is in a hurry. The delimitation process is yet to start. However, the party has joined hands with Stalin who is opposed to national interests. It appears that BJD now has no power to take its decision,” Tripathy said.
Senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra expressed wonder over the reaction of BJP leaders. “We are a regional party and work to safeguard the interest of Odisha. In that process, the BJD joined the meeting in order to ensure that the state will not suffer in the upcoming delimitation process,” Mishra said.
PTI
