New Delhi [India], August 27 : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday backed party president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge's call for an all-party meeting on delimitation, stressing that State governments are "vital stakeholders" and must be consulted before any proposal is finalised.
Reacting to Kharge's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a 25-year freeze on the existing strength of the Lok Sabha and the state-wise allocation of seats, Tharoor said the Congress president had made an "important request" by calling for consultations with State governments.
"Important request from the President of Congress. One key additional detail is the request to consult state governments. The states are vital stakeholders in this exercise, and no delimitation should be proposed without taking their views into account," Tharoor wrote on 'X'.
He recalled his intervention during the parliamentary debate on delimitation in April 2026, when he had called for broader consultations before decisions were taken on the issue.
"In my intervention during the parliamentary debate on delimitation in the Lok Sabha, in April 2026, I had called for a 'grand national consultation' on the issue before something of such portentous significance was finally decided," the Congress MP said.
Tharoor criticised the government for allegedly proceeding without a nationwide consultation.
"It is truly deplorable that the government is proceeding in a clandestine manner to achieve its goals without any such national consultation taking place," he said.
Earlier today, Mallikarjun Kharge urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the government's proposed delimitation exercise and to give political parties and state governments adequate time to study the proposals.
In a letter to Prime Minister Modi, Kharge reiterated his earlier request made on July 16, following the Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister's reported remarks that a special session of Parliament could be convened to discuss the issue.
"I had last written to you on July 16, 2026, requesting you to convene an all-party meeting for discussing the government's proposals for delimitation," Kharge said.
"I had also requested you to give all political parties adequate time to study such proposals in detail before they are introduced in any special session of Parliament that you may be contemplating," he added.
Kharge said the Congress was "very clear" about its position on the issue.
"The Indian National Congress is very clear. Maintain the existing strength of the Lok Sabha at 543 for another 25 years," he said.
He also called for the continuation of the existing state-wise allocation of Lok Sabha seats.
"Maintain the existing state-wise strength in the Lok Sabha for another 25 years," Kharge said, while also demanding that a "one-third reservation for women" be introduced starting from the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Referring to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's recent remarks in a television interview which hinted at a possible special session of Parliament, Kharge said, "Before you go ahead as indicated by the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, I wish to reiterate my earlier request to you to convene an all-party meeting to discuss whatever delimitation proposals you have in mind."
"Give all political parties and state governments adequate time to study such proposals," he further said.
Calling delimitation an issue of "enormous significance for the country," Kharge urged the Prime Minister to avoid pushing the proposals through without adequate consultation.
"Please do not again try and bulldoze as you attempted on April 16 and 17, 2026," he said.