'MPs are not administrators': Karti Chidambaram on why even 850-member Parliament may not be effective

Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram on Thursday questioned the proposal to expand the Lok Sabha, saying a larger House may not improve governance or constituency administration.

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"An 850-member Parliament will be even more ineffective than the current 543-member House. MPs are legislators, not administrative executives. Simply adding more of them does not - and cannot - improve constituency administration, because MPs are not the administrative heads of their constituencies," he said.

On Thursday, the Lok Sabha took up key legislation, including the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Delimitation Bill, 2026, for debate and passage.

The proposal seeks to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha to 815 seats, with 272 seats reserved for women, accounting for 33%.

The delimitation exercise has triggered concerns among several southern states, which fear a potential reduction in their Lok Sabha seats.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said it would move the Supreme Court if the bill is passed. Party leader N. R. Elango said, "We will take legal steps in the interest of the southern states."

DMK Organising Secretary R S Bharathi also raised concerns, saying the process could "vanish the southern states, and will create issues between north and south".

From Kerala, UDF MP N K Premachandran said the proposed changes could significantly alter representation, with over 200 additional seats expected for northern states compared to about 60 for southern states.

Responding to these concerns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said no state would face discrimination under the delimitation process. "I want to say from this House today with a great sense of responsibility that whether it is the south, the north, the east, the west, small states or big states, this decision-making process will not discriminate against any state or do injustice to anyone," he said.

He also said the proportion of Lok Sabha seats for each state would remain unchanged. "There will be no change in that proportion (of Lok Sabha seats) either, and the increase will also be in the same proportion," the prime minister added.