Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday backed the women’s reservation bill but said it should first be implemented within the existing 543 Lok Sabha seats, cautioning against linking it to delimitation.“They should first make 33% reservation from 543 seats,” Mann said, adding that any future expansion of Parliament must ensure a proportionate increase in seats for all states.Flagging concerns over delimitation, Mann said the exercise must be fair and not driven by “wrong intentions” or political considerations. He warned against any attempt to skew seat distribution in favour of particular regions.He said Punjab’s representation could rise from 13 to 20 seats, but feared a disproportionate jump in states like Uttar Pradesh. “There should be no politics in delimitation,” he said. Mann also stressed that the latest census data should be used to ensure relevance, and cautioned that states which have controlled population growth should not be penalised with reduced representation.
