Statement

Sir, let me continue. Another concern is that while the size of the Lok Sabha is being expanded under the Government’s proposal, there is no corresponding increase in the strength of the Rajya 17.04.2026 76 Sabha. This raises a serious structural issue as it alters the balance between the two Houses. In the event of a joint sitting, the significantly larger Lok Sabha would inevitably dominate the voting process. This imbalance would also extend to the election of the President and Vice President, where each Member of Parliament casts an equal vote. So, we are effectively amplifying our own House and increasing our own weight, without, unfortunately, extending the same consideration to our colleagues in the Upper House. If the Rajya Sabha is indeed the Council of States, one can readily understand the concern among States that their weightage is not being respected. These are not issues that can be resolved through arithmetic alone. They require a great compromise – a historic settlement that ensures no region feels disadvantaged or marginalised. Even though one of the hon. Members of BJP criticised me for referring to international examples, I would submit that there is no harm in examining how other diverse federations have addressed similar tensions. In 1787, during the framing of the United States Constitution, the framers faced a deadlock between large and small States. This resulted in what is known as the Connecticut Compromise - a bicameral structure with a House of Representatives based on population, and a Senate where each State, irrespective of its size, has equal representation. Thus, a smaller state like Goa or Sikkim would, in such a model, have the same number of seats in the Upper House as a much larger state like Uttar 17.04.2026 77 Pradesh. I am not suggesting that we adopt this model but we should discuss it. There is another idea, say, the European Parliament, where they use a system of principle of digressive proportionality, where larger States do have more seats than smaller ones; so, larger States will have more MPs, but smaller States are given more seats than a strict population ratio would justify. So, it is true that in the European Parliament, a Maltese MP will represent only 80,000 people; a German MP will represent 8 lakh people. But it does not matter; they stay united. So, we need to consider these options. We are a Union of States, and the whole idea is that we want to create a formula in a serious delimitation discussion where the smallest members of our country and our polity still have a voice loud enough to be heard. These models teach us that in a complex Union, the principle of “one person, one vote, one value” which has been cited by the Ruling Party, must be balanced with the principle of “one State, one equal partner, one value” in a country like ours. As India approaches a new delimitation exercise, the Constitutional question is whether the spirit of cooperative federalism can be preserved through a model that respects demographic reality while preventing structural domination by a few large Hindi-speaking States. Digressive proportionality would not violate constitutional democracy. It would operationalise the Constitution's deeper commitment to the Indian principle of balancing unity with diversity. सर, सीमांकन से जुड़े मुĥŌ पर सभी िहतधारकŌ, सभी राºय सरकारŌ, सभी राजनैितक 17.04.2026 78 दलŌ और नागåरक समाज के साथ Óयापक परामशª कì आवÔयकता है । इस ÿिøया को जÐदबाजी म¤ नहé िकया जा सकता है और न ही इसे मिहलाओं के ÿितिनिधÂव को लागू करने के बहाने के łप म¤ इÖतेमाल िकया जाना चािहए । सरकार देश के िनवाªचन मानिचý को पयाªÈत िवचार-िवमशª और Óयापक परामशª के िबना ³यŌ पुन:िनधाªåरत करना चाहती है, मुझे यह समझ नहé आ रहा है । I urge the Government, therefore, to decouple these issues, pass the Women's Reservation Bill today; we will support it. The Prime Minister spoke with passion about Nari Shakti; let it take effect already in the next general election using our current seat count. Show the women of India that your commitment is not a mere rhetorical flourish. As for delimitation, let us defer it. Let us constitute a formal mechanism, perhaps a JPC, to debate a new federal settlement that protects the interests of all States. Let us ensure that a march towards a new India does not give us a disunited India. Let us not leave our most successful States behind. हम¤ भारतीय एकता के िलए काम करना चािहए । Let us give women their due now, मिहलाओं को नारी शिĉ ही दे द¤ or give our nation, our Union of States, the time it needs to solve its demographic challenges with wisdom and not just arithmetic. संि±Èत म¤ म§ यही कहना चाहता था । Thank you very much for listening to me. It is a plea to the Government. Please be sensible about the larger interests of the country and not the short-term interests of the ruling party. Jai Hind.

Spoke Shashi Tharoor

Spoke on 2026-04-17T00:00:00.000Z

In debate Papers laid on the Table of the House by Ministers/Members