Telangana Industry Minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao has warned of an uprising in southern India if the Centre opts for delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies on the parameters of population.
Having successfully implemented population control measures, the southern states are bound to lose out on representation in Parliament against their northern counterparts like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh if the Centre carries out the delimitation programme on the basis of population.
“If you think you can suppress our voices by undermining our representation in Parliament through delimitation on population parameters, I can promise a Southern uprising against this extreme injustice meted out to the states that had done well by following the policies of the government of India,” he asserted.
He said, “It is even more atrocious if the two states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, will have more members in Parliament than the entire South… Therefore, you will see the Southern political parties, cutting across political lines, along with the people of the South voicing their concerns and I hope Delhi is listening and taking cognizance of it. We Southerners are proud of the fact that we are the largest contributor to the Indian economy.”
Rao also attacked Narendra Modi, who is due to visit Mahabubnagar, Telangana on 1 October to address a rally, calling him the most inept and inefficient prime minister who not only failed to keep his poll promises to the nation but also repeatedly insulted Telangana.
“The BJP is a party that betrayed Telangana. We want to ask a few questions, why is Narendra Modi spewing venom against Telangana and why is he coming here? Why is he repeatedly insulting the formation of Telangana?” said Rao referring to the prime minister’s words on the bitterness post-bifurcation of unified Andhra Pradesh.
He also pointed out that while irrigation projects in other states were given national status, it was denied to Telangana.