New Delhi

Shashi Tharoor on Friday sharply criticised the Centre’s proposed delimitation exercise, warning in the Lok Sabha that it could become “political demonetisation.”

Speaking during the debate on three bills related to women’s reservation and delimitation, the senior Indian National Congress leader objected to linking women’s reservation with expansion of Parliament and constituency redrawing.

Tharoor said there is broad political consensus in favour of reserving seats for women and argued that implementation should happen immediately under the existing parliamentary strength rather than being tied to what he called a contentious administrative exercise.

According to him, linking women’s reservation to delimitation holds the aspirations of Indian women hostage to a demographic and political dispute. He questioned why a “moral imperative” was being entangled with a “demographic minefield.”

He further said delimitation is not just a technical redrawing of boundaries but a major shift in political power that could strain India’s federal structure.

Drawing a comparison with the 2016 currency withdrawal policy, Tharoor said the government was proceeding with similar haste and cautioned that just as demonetisation caused disruption, delimitation could have comparable political consequences.

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The debate concerns the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill seeking changes to the women’s quota law, along with separate bills on delimitation and amendments for Union Territories including Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.