‘We will not allow North-South division’: Amit Shah rebuts demarcation opposition

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at the opposition on Friday for criticizing the women’s reservation bill and proposed delimitation, accusing it of pushing a “North-South divisive narrative”.Ahead of the vote on the bill, Shah addressed the Lok Sabha seeking to drum up support and claimed that delimitation would ensure fair and equal representation of states.“Let me make this clear again: The southern states have exactly the same rights in the House as the northern states. In fact, even a small Union Territory like Lakshadweep has the same rights as the northern states. uttar pradeshGujarat and Bihar,” he said.Addressing concerns over a “North-South divide”, Shah warned against framing the issue in regional terms.“This country should not be divided because of a narrative like this, whether it’s a north-south narrative or any other divisive frame. It shouldn’t be divided like this. What are they trying to imply? Members sitting in the House thinking about what state they’re from when they’re speaking or making decisions? … When we take the oath, we do it with full sincerity and from the heart,” he said.He further accused critics of misusing constitutional discourse.“Those who have been sworn in are now trying to promote the narrative of North-South division. We will not allow this to happen…” Shah said.Backing up his argument with numbers, the home minister said the southern states would not lose their representation after delimitation.“Karnataka, andhra pradeshTelangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – the strength of these five states in the 543-seat assembly currently stands at 129, or 23.76%. After the 50% increase, when we allocate seats to these 5 states, it rises from 129 to 195, accounting for 23.87% of the 816 seats. No one should feel overwhelmed,” he said.Despite strong opposition to the Centre’s proposal for reservation for women, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav said, “Based on almost 11 years of experience, even if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gives a written assurance that they will appoint a woman prime minister, we still won’t believe them…”