DMK lays down conditions as government steps up efforts to pass delimitation Bill

As the Narendra Modi government explores the possibility of bringing in a constitutional amendment Bill to carry out a fresh delimitation exercise, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) may consider extending support if the government revises the legislation bringing in three essential changes to the Bill that reached the Lok Sabha in April.

There is a freeze on seats based on the 1971 Census which ends after the latest Census that is expected to be completed in 2027. The DMK wants this constitutional freeze to remain for another 25 years, while amending the Constitution to introduce a 50% blanket increase in the Lok Sabha seats for all States, which was verbally promised by Home Minister Amit Shah when the legislative package aimed at bringing about delimitation was brought in Parliament in April.

Additionally, the party wants a Schedule of the number of seats that each State will have in the legislative package, as per sources in the DMK. A top DMK leader said that the government has not yet approached them on the issue either “formally or informally”. The party maintains that it will take a final call only once the form and substance of Bills are known.

These conditions come amid renewed efforts from the government to reach out to the Opposition, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju speaking to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi again on Thursday. “I had a productive conversation with Rahul Gandhi. I have made a request on a few specific issues and also discussed other matters. We expect continuous communication and coordinated action with the Congress and other Opposition parties,” Mr. Rijiju said.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister had also met Mr. Gandhi at the latter’s office in Parliament on Wednesday, during which the Congress leaders are also said to have reiterated their opposition to any constitutional amendment to carry out the delimitation exercise.

Though the government doesn’t have the two-thirds majority yet to push through a constitutional amendment, the political situation has changed since April 17, when the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill was defeated on the floor of the House. The numerical strength of the INDIA bloc has since vastly changed.

In the present 540-member Lok Sabha, the two-thirds majority mark is 360, and if 22 Lok Sabha members of the DMK vote for the Bill, the government’s strength would go up to 346. While the government would still be short of 14 MPs, the threshold changes if there are abstentions during the proceedings. If the government brings the Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it will find it easier to reach the two-thirds majority mark. In the Rajya Sabha, if all 244 members are present during voting, the government needs 164 votes. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance currently has 158 MPs.

Mr. Shah had earlier said that once it is assured of the numbers, the government would once again bring the constitutional amendment Bill to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats in order to implement the 33% reservation for women after fresh delimitation.

Since April, the government has secured the support of 20 rebel Trinamool Congress MPs, who are now part of the National Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and six Shiv Sena MPs who had switched sides from the Uddhav Thackeray faction to the Eknath Shinde-led faction.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be hosting the NCPI and Shiv Sena MPs for a breakfast meeting.

In anticipation of the delimitation and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bills coming up next week, the Congress is all set to issue a three-line whip, asking its members to be present in Parliament next week.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha continued to be disrupted over the Opposition protests regarding police action against students.

Speaker Om Birla started the proceedings in the morning by commemorating the anniversaries of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and members stood in silence to pay tribute to the victims.

Thereafter, Opposition MPs began raising slogans, demanding the presence of Mr. Shah in the House over the police action against student protesters on July 20. Some members were also seen displaying placards.