Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Joins Southern Leaders in Opposing Delimitation Exercise

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has joined a growing chorus of southern leaders, including Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao, in opposing the Union government’s proposed delimitation exercise. He insisted that any seat redistribution should be proportional to the existing number of seats across all states.

Echoing Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Reddy criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that there would be no reduction in seats for South India.

“Has anyone noticed how cleverly Amit Shah framed his statement? He says there will be no reduction, but that’s not the issue. We demand an increase in seats proportional to the current representation,” Reddy stated during a press briefing at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad on Friday, February 28.

Amit Shah’s remarks came after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin called for regional parties to unite against the potential impact of the delimitation process.

Reddy warned that the South cannot remain silent if the Centre attempts to favor North Indian states at the expense of southern representation. He reiterated concerns raised by other southern leaders, questioning why states that successfully implemented population control measures should be penalized.

“Why is the Centre punishing the South for adhering to its family planning policies? The South’s population has stabilized because we followed directives, whereas the North saw a population explosion. Now, instead of ensuring fair representation, the Centre seeks to reward those who ignored the policy,” he argued.

Accusing the BJP-led government of attempting to manipulate the delimitation process for political gain, Reddy warned of severe consequences.

“The BJP aims to increase Lok Sabha seats in the North while keeping southern representation stagnant, ensuring its long-term dominance. If this discrimination continues, the South will rise in protest. The Centre must tread carefully,” he cautioned.

He also expressed support for safeguarding regional languages amid tensions between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre over the three-language policy and National Education Policy (NEP).

“I strongly endorse this movement. That’s why we issued a Government Order making Telugu compulsory in Telangana,” he said, though Telugu has been mandated since 2018 under the previous BRS government.

His comments referred to a memo issued on February 25, which proposed replacing ‘Singidi Telugu’ (standard Telugu) with ‘Vennala Telugu’ (simplified Telugu) in schools across Telangana.