On 15 February, 2000, the Government were reported to have decided on a freeze on the number of Lok Sabha Constituencies, State-wise, upto 2026. This would mean that the inter-State divergence in the population per constituency shall go on increasing. This is, to my mind, not only undemocratic-but also it goes against the basic concept of the Indian people as One People. In the House of the People, it is the People, not the States, which are represented.

However, I understand why under pressure from the States which have implemented their population control effectively, the Centre has to accept the existing limits on the representation of States in the Lok Sabha. In this context, we welcome your move towards re-delimitation of Lok Sabha Constituencies in each State, not only to equalise the electorate among various constituencies, but also to rotate the reservation for SC/ST from the existing to other Constituencies, with high SC/ST electoral proportion.

We hope the Delimitation Commission shall complete. its work before the next General Election due in 2004.