Why states that can’t handle populace have more seats in Parliament: Madras HC

New Delhi: The Madras High Court has recently passed an order asking the central government why states that cannot control population are getting more seats in Parliament.

The court observed that the southern states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh successfully controlled the population and they have fewer seats in Parliament as compared to the more populous states like UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh. According to the Bar and Bench report, a bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi passed the order on August 17.

After this decision, Justice N Kirubakaran retired. The court in its order said that Tamil Nadu should get compensation for the last 14 elections. According to the court’s estimate, this amount will be around Rs 5,600 crore.

The High Court said Tamil Nadu had 41 MPs in the Lok Sabha till 1962. However, later due to a decrease in population, the number of Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha constituencies came down to 39.

The court, referring to the 1999 no-confidence motion against the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, said it was not about two seats as every vote counts. The court observed that population control cannot be a factor in deciding the number of people’s representatives of the states in Parliament.

(With agency inputs)