CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded the population reference should be frozen as per the 1971 census and additional Lok Sabha seats should be allocated on the basis of the national population growth rate across all States to ensure States who contributed to population control efforts were not disadvantaged.
Speaking at the Convention on Federalism and Delimitation hosted by the Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin in Chennai, SAD Working President Balwinder Singh Bhundar also advocated that since the Rajya Sabha represented the States, each State should have an equal number of seats in the upper house.
The SAD Working President, who was accompanied by senior leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema at the conference, said during the delimitation process special consideration should be given to States that had successfully controlled their population in line with the National Population Policy. “These states should be rewarded rather than penalized. Punjab, like the southern states, has effectively maintained population control, with its population now below the replacement level. They should not be disadvantaged”.
Mr Balwinder Bhundar in an erudite address also spoke on the Anandpur Sahib resolution which was reaffirmed in the Akali Conference in Ludhiana in 1978. He said the resolution called for redefining Centre-State relations in accordance with genuine federal principles.
He said the excessive centralization witnessed during the Emergency when fundamental rights were suspended underscored the necessity of SAD’s longstanding advocacy for decentralization.
He said the constitutional framework should be restructured to genuinely reflect federal principles-preserving India's unity and empowering States to foster regional growth and development. Mr Bhundar said former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had in his proposal to the National Commission had also called for reforming the roles of Governors to align with a federation structure, deletion of Article 356 which permitted dissolution of State Governments by the Centre and allowing States to draft their plans according to their local needs and priorities.
Speaking on linguistic issues, Mr Bhundar said the SAD strongly believed that the union government should not impose any language in any State and that the latter should have the autonomy to decide which languages to teach in their educational institutions. “Similarly, the medium of instruction in schools and colleges should be determined by individual States”
The SAD while extending its wholehearted support on these critical issues also urged all like minded parties to unite in achieving these objectives. It expressed its gratitude to Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin for taking the admirable initiative of organizing a convention of political parties to deliberate on nationally significant issues such as federalism, delimitation, and linguistic rights. It said the SAD had consistently upheld the demand for State autonomy in line with federal ideals and reiterated this through resolutions adopted at Batala, Anandpur Sahib and Ludhiana. It also noted that S Parkash Singh Badal and M Karunanidhi had always championed the cause of strengthening the States by advocating the greater devolution of powers”.