5 states exempted from delimitation

A Bill to exempt five states from the exercise to redraw the constituencies afresh was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha.

A Bill to exempt five states from the exercise to redraw the constituencies afresh was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday despite the government admitting that there were "some mistakes".

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Law Minister HR Bhardwaj said the government has gone by consensus as it could only accept or reject the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission. “I cannot criticise Delimitation Commission. I can only do as per the recommendations of the Statutory body constituted by Act of Parliament,” he said.

Referring to all-round complaints from members on the manner in which their constituencies were redrawn, Bhardwaj said in the future it would be better if MPs have a greater say in the exercise as bureaucrats do not contest elections.

He said not much attention was paid on details when the Delimitation Act was passed by Parliament in 2002. The minister said the decision to put on hold the delimitation process in five states was taken as there was great dissatisfaction among the tribals as many seats reserved for them were being converted to general seats.