Punjab Congress Leaders to Meet in Delhi to Discuss Delimitation

Politics Politics of India

Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-03-13 08:42:17 |

Share: Facebook | Twitter | Whatsapp | Linkedin Visits: 68

---

Punjab Congress Leaders toMeet in Delhi Over Delimitation Issue

Senior Congress leaders fromPunjab will convene in Delhi on Thursday to discuss the issue of delimitationand devise a strategy to address it. The meeting will also be attended byBhupesh Baghel, the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Punjab.

Recently, Partap SinghBajwa, the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, called for acollective effort from all political parties in Punjab to discuss theimplications of delimitation. He emphasized the importance of assessing thepros and cons of the process and considering a unified opposition if necessary.Before Bajwa, Congress MP from Chandigarh, Manish Tewari, expressed concernsabout the impact of delimitation, particularly if it follows the principle of"one citizen, one vote, one value." Tewari warned that this approachwould result in a decline in the representation of northern states like Punjab,as their proportion of seats in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha woulddecrease. He pointed out that Punjab, currently with 13 Lok Sabha seats, couldlose out in a delimitation based solely on population, with its representationpotentially reduced to 18 seats. Tewari added that states like Haryana andPunjab would become less significant in Parliament, and tensions could arisebetween the two states over seat allocation, as Haryana currently holds 10 LokSabha seats.

Bajwa further explained thatincreasing the number of parliamentary seats to around 848 would result in onlya marginal increase for Punjab compared to higher-population states likeMaharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.He noted that the BJP holds significant influence in these states and expressedconcerns that Punjab, being a Sikh-majority state, could face a furtherweakening of its political power. Bajwa linked the delimitation issue toongoing efforts by the Narendra Modi-led government to undermine Punjab'sclaims over its capital and rivers, as well as its economy, citing last year'spaddy procurement crisis as an example.

Government to LaunchFirst-Ever Auction of Exploration Licences

The government is set tolaunch the first-ever auction of exploration licences on Thursday, marking asignificant step towards tapping into mineral resources such as zinc, diamond,and copper. This initiative comes after the enactment of the MMDR AmendmentAct, 2023, which allows private companies to participate in the exploration of29 critical minerals, including lithium, copper, cobalt, gold, and silver.

This move aims to boostexploration efforts, increase private sector involvement, and enhance thecountry's mineral security and self-reliance in critical minerals. Thegovernment will auction 13 mineral blocks, which include resources like zinc,diamond, and copper, through an online bidding process. The auction will belaunched in Goa and will be accompanied by a roadshow focused on the fifthtranche of critical mineral blocks. Additionally, the launch of the AIHackathon 2025, a mineral exploration challenge centered on "mineraltargeting using AI," will take place during the event.

Go!