MP Dubey slams Cong over 1973 delimitation

Amid the ongoing debate over delimitation in southern states, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress, alleging that states ruled by the party had benefited disproportionately from the 1973 delimitation exercise.

Speaking during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, the Godda MP claimed that while states like Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu saw no increase in parliamentary seats, Congress-ruled states such as Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan gained additional constituencies.

“It was the Congress that pushed for making population the benchmark for delimitation. Yet, after the 1973 exercise, only Congress-ruled states saw an increase in seats, while others remained stagnant,” Dubey asserted.

His comments come in response to concerns raised by Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin and the DMK, who have opposed population-based delimitation, fearing it could reduce Tamil Nadu’s representation in Parliament. Stalin and other southern leaders have demanded that the 1971 Census be used as the basis for seat allocation, arguing that shifting to newer census data would unfairly favour northern states with higher population growth.

Dubey also accused past Congress governments of betraying Jharkhand, highlighting that the state was excluded from the 2008 delimitation exercise. “Jharkhand was the only state left out during the 2008 delimitation. Why? Because if the exercise had been carried out, the tribal population in Santhal Pargana would have lost one Lok Sabha seat and three Assembly seats,” he claimed, citing findings from the Kuldeep Singh-led Delimitation Commission.

Further, he pointed to a sharp decline in the tribal population in Santhal Pargana, a region comprising Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur districts.

“In 1951, tribals made up 45 per cent of the population in Santhal Pargana. By 2011, that number had dropped to just 28 per cent,” he said, blaming Bangladeshi intruders and Rohingyas for the demographic shift.

The BJP MP also raised concerns over rising Muslim population in the region, claiming that while India’s overall Muslim population has increased by about 4 per cent since Independence, Santhal Pargana alone has seen a rise of over 15 per cent.

“Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants have infiltrated the country through Bengal and Bihar and have taken refuge in Jharkhand. This has severely impacted the tribal population,” Dubey alleged.

He demanded that the next delimitation exercise should be conducted only after identifying and excluding all Bangladeshi intruders, arguing that illegal immigration had skewed Jharkhand’s demographic balance.