Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha gets adjourned during the Budget Session, in New Delhi on March 11, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI/Sansad TV
Opposition protests demanding a debate on duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and the impending delimitation exercise, forced an adjournment in the Rajya Sabha for about 40 minutes on Tuesday (March 11, 2025) morning. DMK members dressed in black shirts trooped into the well of the house, alleging that the southern States will get a raw deal if delimitation involves the redrawing of constituencies solely on the basis of population.
The Opposition parties had moved 21 notices under Rule 267 seeking the suspension of the day’s business. Of these, 18 were moved by MPs of the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), seeking a debate on the duplicate EPIC numbers recently flagged by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. These notices were rejected by the chair.
In a balancing act, however, DMK MP R. Girirajan was allowed to speak about delimitation during the Zero Hour, when members can raise issues of national importance. The Opposition briefly paused its protests to allow Mr. Girirajan to speak, and then resumed protesting soon afterwards. Despite pleas from the Deputy Chairman, the Opposition would not relent, forcing him to adjourn the house from 11:25 a.m. till noon.
Political disenfranchisement
In his zero hour submission, Mr. Girirajan said States such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Punjab — which had successfully implemented family planning measures — stand to lose parliamentary seat representation post delimitation. On the other hand, States with poor family planning programmes and higher fertility rates, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, will gain many of the seats transferred from better performing States, he said.
He described the spectre of political disenfranchisement in the south when the delimitation freeze ends in 2026 as a “grave threat” to the federal structure of Indian democracy. “Delimitation disproportionately penalises southern India progressive states like Tamil Nadu, while rewarding those who failed to control their population in last three decades,” Mr. Girirajan said.
Published – March 11, 2025 07:04 pm IST