TRS chief K Kavitha on Delimitation Bill: "Every state should have fixed number of representatives"

Hyderabad: Telangana Rashtra Sena (TRS) Chief K Kavitha has said she would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the proposed delimitation exercise, calling for a "fixed number of MPs" in the Parliament so every state has equal voting rights.

She added that her party (recently formed) will focus 95 per cent of the work on Telangana and internally, on state development and prosperity.

"My party will be a very inward-looking party. 95% of the work will be about Telangana and internally, Telangana's development and prosperity. But there will be certain issues that we will have to work with the union government to make sure that our people are safe, and the policies that are made at the union level do not affect our states... On delimitation, I have a very important proposal. I will also write to the PM. The proposal is this: let the number of MPs in the Lok Sabha be divided according to the population. Every state should have a fixed number of representatives in the Rajya Sabha. Every state should have equal voting rights," Kavitha said during the press conference on Saturday.


Also read | Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann wins trust vote amid defection fears

This comes after the Opposition parties during the three-day special session in the Lok Sabha voted against the Constitution Amendment Bill on April 17. The Lok Sabha took up the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-first Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill together for passing.

In the division that took place on the Constitution Amendment Bill following the debate on the three bills, 298 members voted in favour and 230 against.

The Bills aimed at delimitation exercise based on the 2011 census, to operationalise the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, and provide for one-third reserved seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. The Opposition supported the women's reservation while criticising the delimitation exercise.

Also read | Three years on, Manipur remains tense amid ongoing violence

Earlier, on April 30, the Election Commission officially granted the name Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) to the new political party launched by K Kavitha. The approval has been officially confirmed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

While at the party's launch, Kavitha announced Telangana Rashtra Sena as the proposed name for the party, the ECI has approved Telangana Rakshana Sena, retaining the initials TRS. Her father and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had also launched Telangana Rashtra Samithi- 'TRS', before renaming the party to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

K Kavitha launched her party at Advaya Convention in Medchal on April 25. The move came seven months after she parted ways with the BRS.